We do more than just write useful but boring analyses,
sometimes we also like to make fun of ourselves.

LINGUIST:

So, we’re done with our studies, and we’ve participated in some science projects. What’s next?

SEMIOTICIAN:

I think, we’re going to… become entrepreneurs.

LINGUIST:

Good idea… But we need to decide what we’ll sell. 

SEMIOTICIAN:

Exactly! We need to decide what we’ll sell…

LINGUIST:

I just said that.

SEMIOTICIAN:

You already said that… yes. Well, we could help people… compile texts for brochures, or, let’s say, create a public image for people. 

LINGUIST:

Public image? I know nothing about creating a public image. 

SEMIOTICIAN:

Neither do I… Perhaps we shouldn’t try create public images then… 

LINGUIST:

Quite. I also think we shouldn’t try to create public images. 

SEMIOTICIAN:

So, let’s make a deal that the one thing that we definitely won’t do is creating public images!

LINGUIST:

You want to list all the things we definitely won’t do?

SEMIOTICIAN:

No, not quite… we need to stick together to make this entrepreneurship thing work. Besides that, we need to be original. 

LINGUIST:

Original!? What do you mean by that?

SEMIOTICIAN:

What I mean is that we need to offer something that no-one else does. 

LINGUIST:

Well, yeah, that sounds reasonable… 

SEMIOTICIAN:

You know, I’ve always thought that I’d like to be some kind of expert. For example, a semiotics expert. 

LINGUIST:

A semiotics expert? Hmm… well, I don’t know. I’ve been working on a large pile of legal cases, trying to apply some hefty formal models to solve the interpretation issues raised by judges. I did that for my PhD thesis.

SEMIOTICIAN:

A-hah! In other words, you’re a semantics expert on analyzing legal texts. 

LINGUIST:

Well, ok, something like that… Hmm, interesting… So which expert do you think you are? What type of an animal is a semiotics expert?

SEMIOTICIAN:

I haven’t got the foggiest… But, strangely enough, some lawyers I know have been asking me questions about their trademark cases. It’s like this, the owners and users of trademarks often see them as signs, and semioticians study signs. While I’ve been looking at those cases, I’ve noticed that a semiotician can analyse these cases according to rigorous scientific criteria, saving some money for my friends. 

LINGUIST:

You’re blind, man. That makes you a semiotics expert… 

SEMIOTICIAN:

Err...

LINGUIST:

You’re a semiotics expert on trademark disputes. 

SEMIOTICIAN:

Heh, you’re an optimist. You think it’s that simple? Snap your fingers, and you’re an expert? You probably think we’ve got a company running already. 

LINGUIST:

Of course, we have two services: the semantic analysis of legal texts, and the semiotic analysis of trademarks. We just need to figure out an appropriate name for this venture. 

SEMIOTICIAN:

May I? I’d like to call our company “Mind the Meaning”. 

LINGUIST:

What now?

SEMIOTICIAN:

In Estonian, “Märka tähendust”. We both deal with meanings, right? We do it in a slightly different manner, but that won’t matter, right? So, that’s the common ground between us. Also, do you get it? It’s straight out of a London tube station announcement: “mind the gap”. 

LINGUIST:

Do you really think that if we write this story up, people will believe us? All those people reading these words now - they will think that we came up with our name just like that? 

SEMIOTICIAN:

Would you rather tell them a story about how we met every day for half a year trying to figure out a name for ourselves. Sent each other letters more frequently than young lovebirds? I say that pulling it out quickly, a bit like a rabbit from a hat, gives the whole process a bit more flair. 

LINGUIST:

Well, you’re not wrong about that. Let’s leave it at that.

SEMIOTICIAN:

What will we do about the logo? 

LINGUIST:

Logo? This is skewing towards image creation again… 

SEMIOTICIAN:

Eh, don’t start that again. 

LINGUIST:

I think we should stop trying to show off and tell the readers how it really was. 

SEMIOTICIAN:

That it’s a picture from the Chinese National Museum in Beijing? 

LINGUIST:

Yes, that it’s a trademark from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) – The White Rabbit.

SEMIOTICIAN:

The Chinese claimed that it’s the world’s oldest trademark. It was the advertising sign for sewing needles produced in the Liu family shop in Jinan, Shandong Province. 

LINGUIST:

Which suits us well. 

SEMIOTICIAN:

It says it on the stamp that the shop belongs to the Liu family, and it also warns against using the same sign. 

LINGUIST:

Well, now people might think that we are hypocrites…
we’re writing analyses in trademark disputes while copying a trademark that warns against using it for other businesses. 

SEMIOTICIAN:

Heh! You’re right. People might start to think that something suspicious is going on. But the sign is excellent. Also, according to trademark law, the Liu family has already lost its rights to this trademark as it has not been used for centuries. After all, when enough time has passed, an inactive trademark can be used by anybody.

LINGUIST:

Anybody like us?

SEMIOTICIAN:

Like us.

LINGUIST:

Then let’s do it.

SEMIOTICIAN:

Yeah, let’s do it.

LINGUIST:

I wonder if we’ll get any clients as well… What do you think?

SEMIOTICIAN:

We’ll see!