Posted on 08/25/2004 2:09:03 PM PDT by aft_lizard
A few days ago I notified freepers that a website was copying swiftvets.com layout and name.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1196092/posts
"We are an independent group with no relationship to the Kerry-Edwards and Bush-Cheney Campaigns "
Is what is written at the bottom right hand corner of the webpage. The column to the left the very first link says "contribute to our cause" the link is to contribute to the kerry campaign. They provide many links to anti-Bush sites and anti-Bush orgs including Center for American Progress.
To those of you who have been to swiftvets.com you will notice that swiftvets.org has an "uncanny" resemblance to it. This site is obviously not a parody, but out and out plagiarism.
The owners of this site, or its host which is a proxy service need to be shut down immediately and fined. I dont know who to report them to, but I am sure there is somebody out there who knows."
Now they have changed there site, I would like to think because of the hard work of freepers. Although the lay out and name remains the same. Some key parts were changed.
First Change: original "contribute to our cause", exactly the same position as swiftvets.com and same wording. They had linked to contribute to john kerry
change "contribute to a worthy cause" linking to http://interactive.lwv.org/About/AboutMain.cfm.
Second change: Original at bottom right hand corner of site "We are an independent group with no relationship to the Kerry-Edwards and Bush-Cheney Campaigns "
Change at bottom right hand corner of site "We are an independent group with no relationship to the Kerry-Edwards and Bush-Cheney Campaigns "
Site also puts up this new disclaimer:
Parody * * News Flash * * Parody Due to the uproar that his site seems to have caused, we need to spell a few things out explicitly. Firstly, THIS SITE IS A PARODY OF www.swiftvets.com . Dictionary.com defines parody as:
A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. See Synonyms at caricature. We have chosen to use the technique of parody because it is a way to expose and vet the slander in a particularly swift manner. Secondly, we are an independent group with no relationship to the Kerry-Edwards nor the Bush-Cheney Campaigns Finally, we have no direct relationship with the Democratic Party nor moveon.org. That doesn't mean that we won't vote Democratic in November. Also, moveon.org does a much better job of web and video production than we could ever muster. Parody * * News Flash * * Parody
Correction on the second change, they didnt change its wording at the bottom right hand corner. They changed the contribute links wording and where you donate too.
They are also saying its just a parody
There is nothing the Vets can do about it, except try to buy the domain at blackmail prices.
If it went to Kerry, I won't be able to poop for a week.
OK, so which one is bogus - com or org?
.org is the bogus one.
"... So what does this mean for intellectual property owners and law enforcement? The first step for most parties interested in contacting a registrant who uses the service will be to send a letter to Domains By Proxy, Attn. Legal Complaints, 15111 N. Hayden Road, Suite 160 PMB 353, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260. According to its Legal Terms page, Domains By Proxy claims that it will not allow registrants using the service to:
Transmit spam, viruses or harmful computer programs;
Violate the law;
Infringe or violate a third party's trademark or other legal rights;
Engage in morally objectionable activities, including but not limited to those which are child pornographic, harmful to minors, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harassing, tortious, obscene, racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable, involve hate crimes or terrorism.
Registrants using the service are bound by the UDRP, the Domain Name Proxy Agreement, Privacy Policy and Anti-Spam Policy. Registrants also agree that they will provide accurate contact information to Domains By Proxy when they register or transfer domain names to it. It appears that Domains By Proxy has covered the bases and created a system where registrants are bound to more requirements than traditional domain name registration. However, these checks may not keep Domains By Proxy from being named as a party in UDRP or ACPA disputes. Other resellers have been named before in those cases, and lost. For a recent example, see Biogen, Inc. v. Namesecure.com, Inc., WIPO Case D2002-0270 (May 20, 2002). ..."
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