American Mensa is a complete scam - I have been a member for about a decade and was mostly inactive. I sent my dues thinking the organization for research in intelligence or for Gifted Children.
A few years ago, my daughter qualified based on her test scores and I tried to become more active and started volunteering. Here came my series of rude shocks - the management of American Mensa is controlled by a old boys and girls network of the same race who know each other for years. The management committee not only lacks diversity but it also lacks respect for diversity! And actively pushes down volunteers of younger (and by that I mean less than 50) ages or other races! Not only that, by its own internal discussions on m-grapevine yahoo group (which is open to public for becoming a member) it spent $1.9 million on a needless lawsuit suing a pharmaceutical company for allegedly violating its trademark - that's $200 per member - for a product that company never brought to market!
Intellectual Property attorneys quote American Mensa as an example of what not to do on Intellectual Property law suits (source http://www.clemcheng.com/html/welcome.html)
Example #1 in American Mensa, Ltd. V.inpharmatica, Ltd. Et al., No. 07-3283 (d. Md filed Dec. 6) Mensa (the high IQ society) spent over a million dollars in Ferderal Court and lost, unable to stop the sales of AdMensa IQ enhancing product. Mensa was then forced toraid $600,000 from life membership funds. If the lawsuit had only cost about $100,000 by hiring a small firm for a TTAB action (limited to likelihood ofconfusion), there would have been little pain and still enough money to fight a dozen battles.By hiring the expensiveattorneys, Mensa lost the war before iteven started. Thus, in the long run, high intelligenceandeducation are no match for creative efficiency since creative efficiency is what keeps costs under control.
One would have thought that the American Mensa would have learned from the above mistake but not really. It's name and logo committee chair. Robin Crawford uses organization's membership money to have its intellectual attorney call and harass people she does not like, on issues completely unrelated to Intellectual Property! When I realized the racket, I canceled my membership and demanded a prorated portion of my annual dues back which the organization refused!
Phew, joining Mensa is not all that smart! Unless, of course, you want to support the lifestyle of its IP attorney who lives in a 1.6 million $ mansion.
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