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The same thing happened to Blissymbols[1], as documented by radiolab[2].

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blissymbols

2. http://www.radiolab.org/story/257194-man-became-bliss/

That was a great episode.

This has also happened with the language Lojban[1], which was 'forked' from Loglan[2] when the creator starting making copyright complaints so the community could maintain control.

Such an odd concept that someone could 'own' a language, but I guess if you created it I can see why you would want to.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lojban [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loglan

It's a less odd concept if you compare it to Elvish rather than English.

I think it's a great lesson for any creator. Just because you have invented something does not necessarily mean you have the right or are capable of dictating how people use it.

I seem to remember Umberto Eco mentioning that he does not offer his own interpretations of his novels for a similar reason, but I can't find the quote.

I can recommend his book.

The Search for the Perfect Language - Umberto Eco - 2010

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