We Be Pirates!

August 22, 2023

Thirty years ago, Captain Paul Watson created the idea of Neptune’s Navy. He designed Neptune’s Navy logos and made some patches, but never really used the logo with the organization he created and led for 45 years.

After Captain Watson was ousted from the organization whose name we are not allowed to say (the organization and the movement that he created), he was informed that all rights to the name and to the logos he designed could no longer be used by him. Covertly and without his knowledge, the people who ousted him registered trademarks for the name and the logos.

So, we made the decision to use the name Neptune’s Navy which they had not trademarked, and we set forth on our campaign to oppose Icelandic whaling and the slaughter of pilot whales and dolphins in the Faroe Islands.

Suddenly, we find the organization (we are prohibited from saying the name of) is now using the name and selling merchandise with the name Neptune’s Navy. In other words, riding on the back of our campaigns.

Their position is that anything that Captain Watson created during his lifetime association with the organization that he created now belongs to them including his entire history.

We could challenge them in court, but suing is their game, not ours. We have been forced to defend ourselves against the frivolous lawsuits for trademark violations when we have not violated any of the trademarks.

So, what do we need?

We need an operational name and a logo that the people who treacherously took over what he created cannot exploit or attempt to claim as theirs. We needed something created after he left, and with a name that they will not want to be seen using.

At Omar Todd’s direction (CEO of the Foundation) and with Captains Watson’s guidance, they commissioned artists to work on a new logo and discussed new possible names.

The old organization has the Jolly Roger logo that Captain Watson created but they only use it on merchandise because it’s a big seller. People like it. But the old organization no longer flies the flag from the ships because their government partners disapprove of the pirate image.

Instead, they now use the classic Humpback and dolphin logo that Captain Watson personally commissioned artist Steve Cepello to create in 1985 but which they also now claim sole ownership because of Captain Watson’s lifetime relationship to the previous organization.

It’s all very complicated and litigious and quite frankly ridiculous.

So, we will no longer refer to our campaigns as Neptune’s Navy. Instead, we will use a name that has absolutely no association with Captain Watson’s past relationship with his previous organization and a name that they absolutely do not wish to be associated with.

It is our pleasure to announce that the new operational campaign name for the Captain Paul Watson Foundation will be Neptune’s Pirates. 

Omar and Captain Watson had the logo commissioned under their direction and we had it double checked from Intellectual Property experts and so trademarks have also been filed. 

Here is Omar’s description of the Logo:

“The serious nature of our state as a species can only be described as diminishment, and this new logo featuring a skull was created to reflect this. Our time is running out.

The trident, representing Neptune, God of the Sea, is us, and a representation of Direct Action: we as a species continuously attempt to defy death, yet are ultimately makers of our own destruction. That is why the trident is depicted as going through the eye of the skull.

However, the flag of the whale is flown high. Our foundation was created to protect the oceans, its ecosystems, and the whales and countless other marine species who depend on them. Protecting the ocean also means protecting humanity.

We often are referred to as “Pirates.” Pirates get things done, which is why we are choosing to embrace the pirate ethos.”

The people who ousted Captain Watson want nothing to do with the pirate image outside of selling merchandise and since we have lodged the trademarked name Neptune’s Pirates, no-one can steal it.

Now some people and certainly some government’s may be offended by our association with the word piracy. Our response is we don’t care. We have no problem with the name because the fact is that we are officially pirates.

Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit Federal Court in the United States in 2014 officially designated Captain Watson as a pirate. He did not charge Captain Watson with anything, but he stated in court that Captain Watson was a pirate for interfering with Japanese whaling. Captain Watson is honored because he has no problem with being associated with the romance of piracy. Young people love it and unlike Captain Watson’s former colleagues, we will not be co-opted by government partnerships. A government tail will not wag our non-governmental dog.

Going forward we will retain the strategic philosophy of aggressive non-violence and we will retain the values that Captain Watson has championed for over four decades, values that have since been cast aside. These values are a non-compromising willingness to take the required risks to defend and protect life and diversity in the sea. 

Motivated by passion, guided by courage, and inspired by imagination we have become a force to be reckoned with as we continue to do what Captain Paul Watson has done since 1977 and that is to aggressively and non-violently to intervene and to stop illegal activities that exploit and destroy life in the sea.