Posted on 04/15/2002 4:35:32 PM PDT by invoman
Today I received a threatening e-mail:
< it has come to our attention that you are using the name "Minnesota Fishing" for your website. That is a registered trademark (registration # 29748) owned by ______.
Please remove the name immediately from http://www.invominnesota.com/ and any other materials or mediums where you may be using it, or action will be taken to the full extent of the law.
You are responsible for any damages and any deceptive practices damages as well as monetary awards to World Wide WebResults the courts may order due to your misleading use of this trademarked name.
. You are further instructed to notify anyone whom you have done business with, using the "Minnesota Fishing" trademark, to inform them that it is owned by World Wide WebResults and that you are not in fact affiliated with the "Minnesota Fishing" Trademark in any way.
You have 3 working days to comply or further action will be initiated.
Sincerely,
___________>>>>
Here's the URL:
http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm
This doesn't mean that I am counseling you in any way.
From http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/whatis.htm...
A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms "trademark" and "mark" are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.
Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office. The registration procedure for trademarks and general information concerning trademarks is described in a separate pamphlet entitled "Basic Facts about Trademarks".
"R" in a circle indicates registered trademark.
"TM" indicates common law trademark.
and...
"GAL,B" means get a life, buddy. Any fishing site is OK by me!
But in reality...I think the guy is scum, he's deceived his customers in the past...and I think my "Get a Lawyer" response will be the last I hear of him.
In other words if his beef is over your use of two words used consecutively at the top of a website, and he can't effectively document or show how he's been actively using those same two words (presumably, on the internet), I wouldn't expect him to have a leg to stand on.
It just sort of doesn't make sense. Does anybody have a trademark on "Idaho potato", or "Wisconsin Cheese"? ("French champagne" is a slightly different case, since the good friar, Dom Perignon, actually invented the process...) I can't imagine how this yutz could ever claim to have an umbrella protection for "Minnesota Fishing". A quick call to someone in PR at the State DNR, in St. Paul, might be really helpful to you. If anyone's got a claim and might be interested in protecting their usage of the term, it's them.
Or maybe this guy issues his own State-approved fishing licenses...
Also Minnesota Fishing may not be trademarkale as it is so highly descriptive and generic.
Just wanted to correct the comment made above, "The 'Federal R' means a copyright- a different form of IP."
Interesting question though, particularly in internet age -- how far can a state trademark extend.
Also, use of the "R" in a circle, without having a Federal registered trademark, is a no-no (you knew that).
Back to my life now . . . .
Until then you can and should do (or say) nothing until you receive proper notice -- which you then will bring to your new lawyer in a very timely manner.
If you put this in the hands (fins) of the sharks at this early stage they will own you for no good reason from your point of view and may turn this literally into a Federal case at your expense.
There will be plenty of time for that later if this whole affair is anything but a scam. BTW, the question of exactly how and to what extent the claimant has been damaged by you comes to mind, for openers.
Finally, you should contact your (and his) Secretary of State and perhaps the US Department of Commerce (specifically, the PTO and he Federal Trade Commission) to inquire and report re: a possible interstate internet scam. The "authorities" do not take kindly to weasels representing that they have IP protection that everyone else goes to the trouble of obtaining through legal channels (for a fee to the gummint, of course).
Don't lose any sleep over this. All the best....
Thanks, man!
From my ISP:
Greetings! Many domain-name registrants are receiving "Domain Dispute Notification" mailings from an entity identifying itself as "XChange Dispute Resolution." The mailings FALSELY state that XChange is an "ICANN authorized arbitrator" (they are NOT) and that the registrant must mail in a "security deposit fee" to defend ownership of the domain name. A scanned copy of the deceptive mailings is available at: http://www.icann.org/announcements/advisory-exh-08apr02.htm Registrants who receive the notice should contact an appropriate governmental law enforcement/consumer protection agency to report the incident. You should NOT send money as requested by this notice, as this is a complete scam. If you have any doubt of the legitimacy of ANY mailing or email, regarding your domain name, please contact admin@ for help. Thank you!
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