Personal web sites

[FTee]

Mr. Bacon,

I think we all agree that Joe is a good guy and deserves respect for his services (at least I do). I don't think extromba said anything to the contrary, and if you read his post, he was not critical of Joe personally. Your attempt to spin the post to fit your own agenda is as transparent as it is unconvincing.

A few points: first of all, don't criticize someone's spelling when you have your own issues in that respect. You wrote this: "I suggest you purchase a dictionary and look up words you're confused about BEFORE typing them into a computor." (Emphasis mine.) You should follow your own advice before making snarky comments to others, especially when you misspell something in the same exact sentence.

Further, I think extromba's issue is more with your attempt to pass off BAA as your own organization. On this issue, regardless of my views concerning your business, I strongly urge you to put your ego aside and recognize that extromba knows what he's talking about. I guarantee this: if you get sued by BAA, you will most likely lose. Courts are not sympathetic to the arguments you've made, so proceed very carefully in this matter. Of course, feel free to chart your own path, but do so at your own peril.

FTee

[trumpetteacher1]

[extromba]

Mr. Bacon:

I'm really at a loss as to how to respond to your message. While there are a number of things I would like to say to you that are highly inappropriate for this forum, I'll simply stick to the legal issues at hand.

At the outset, it is important for you to understand that my concern is not with the fees you charge for your services. That is your call and I am not going to pass judgment on the appropriateness of charging for a service that others feel should be provided at no charge, out of respect for our dead soldiers.

Indeed, as Ftee so eloquently stated, my comments to Joe were not intended to be disrespectful as I am truly humbled by the profound sacrifice that men and women like Joe have made for this country and for our fellow Americans.

Notwithstanding your unpersuasive arguments to the contrary, the fact that you secured a domain name and operate under a trade name that has only a de minimis spelling difference from the well known mark “Bugles Across America” appears to be nothing short of trademark infringement and unfair competition, which violates numerous provisions of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051, et seq. The case law throughout the various federal circuits prohibiting intentional misspellings of others' trademarks is well-established and unequivocal.

Moreover, your argument that it is my apparent lack of education which caused me to be misdirected to your infringing web site is not only misguided and offensive, but will not mitigate any potential damages that may have been caused by your actions.

Simply put, your behavior appears to violate federal trademark and unfair competition laws, and to date, you have presented absolutely no valid defense to overcome any potential claims.

Mr. Bacon - as you can see from the many postings on this thread and in previous others, you are clearly in the minority of your fellow trumpeters in thinking that such actions are acceptable and lawful.

Feel free to continue to hurl offensive and uninformed comments in my direction. I have a thick skin.

[lh]

"Well... that about covers the flyby."
_________________
Eclipse Enigma Bb trumpet 2011
Olds Super Bb trumpet 1958
Eclipse Red Flugelhorn 2011
Selmer Paris model 59 Piccolo 1977
Conn New Invention Cornet 1913

[maccluer]

Interesting discussion. I checked it out and found this interesting article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typosquatting
_________________
www.joshuamaccluer.com

[extromba]

See also...

Shields v. Zuccarini, 254 F.3d 476 (3d Cir. 2001). The district court held that registering domain names that are intentional misspellings of distinctive or famous trademarks violates the ACPA. The court found that there was bad faith intent to profit from the use of the confusingly similar domain names. The court affirmed the lower court’s preliminary injunction against defendant, who had registered four domain names for “Joe Cartoon” that were confusingly similar to plaintiff’s cartoon character of the same name. Defendant had posted criticism at these domains of the content of plaintiff’s site.

and...

CitizenHawk Eyes Typosquatters

Swooping down on cybersquatters who profit from brand name misspellings.
April 16, 2007
RED HERRING (www.redherring.com)
By Leah Messinger

On the web, misspelling spells big business for typosquatters.

It happens when someone buys a domain name that closely resembles a recognized brand or trademark, save for a few key intentional typos. So, while Amazon owns the domain amazon.com, typosquatters have purchased web sites amazan.net and 1mazon.com.

“On the Internet, [trademark infringement] is happening millions of times a day,” said Ari Master, COO of CitizenHawk, which offers digital brand management tools.

So, the Aliso Viejo, California-based company is swooping into a nettlesome, burgeoning niche. Today the company launched Typosquasher, an on-demand service that combats online trademark infringement and other cyber crimes that stem from typosquatting.

Typosquasher helps companies search for trademark violators and then take legal steps, such as sending warning letters to the domain name owners or the domain hosts. The Maveron-funded company said it has provided its beta service to 1-800-PetMeds, Overstock.com, and others.

“If retailers had the resources, they would have tackled [this problem] a long time ago,” said Forrester senior analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.

Capitalizing on Typos

A 2006 Forrester study estimated that 38 percent of the time, consumers type URLs incorrectly into their browsers. Many sites capitalize on this shortcoming, making money by lead generation and through Google and Yahoo ad sales, for example.

Cybersquatting expert David Steel said he has encountered defendants who have registered as many as 16 million domain names similar to common brand names. He added that such infringement is enforceable under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999. But to hold typosquatters accountable, “the hard part is really finding them.”

Sarah Deutsch, vice president and associate general counsel for Verizon, said typosquatting is a serious problem for her company, which has not tried Typosquasher. Nevertheless, Verizon is likely to take legal action against a typosquatter early next week. Ms. Deutsch said she has located a company that owns domain names using 1,300 variations of the Verizon brand.

Ms. Deutsch said that locating infringers and then sending warning notices is not a viable option. “If you’re the trademark owner, you’re going to be forced to send takedown notices day after day after day, with no resolution to the problem,” Ms. Deutsch said.

She suggested that more energy should be devoted to solving the problem at its source: registry companies that allow users to purchase fraudulent domains.

[TapsTrumpeter]

[jjwadams]

bye

[FTee]

Mr. Bacon,

I don't think extromba needs a legal team to review this issue. He knows what he's talking about (and you should also check out the site Mr. MacCluer helpfully provided). I again urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to get some sober, independent counsel on this matter. Despite your conclusory assertion that "the citations above apply to a categorically different situation that you simply fail to comprehend[,]" you do not explain why the situation is categorically different. Look at the facts (before a court of law does, and before you start shelling out a couple hundred bucks per hour for some lawyer to represent you): two organizations, in the same field, offering the same services (it doesn't matter whether one is free and the other makes a profit), with nearly identical names and marks, and a URL that has a whole one-letter difference. I am at a loss to see how the law of trademark infringement doesn't apply here. And frankly, unless you have some background and education in the field of trademarks, you should drop the bravado and consider what extromba has to say. You simply don't know what you're talking about.

FTee

[richardwy]

oops
_________________
1972 Selmer Radial

[extromba]

Thanks for the thorough legal analysis TapsTrumpeter. Where did you get your JD?

Since I am apparently nothing more than a simpleton who doesn’t know his amato water key from a hole in the ground, maybe you can heed the advice of the learned FTee on this issue.

[maccluer]

I'm not a lawyer and don't claim to have any specialized knowledge on the subject, but I don't see any categorical difference here. Who came first, you or them?

Personally I want to succeed based on my own merits, not my similarity to someone else's.

JM
_________________
www.joshuamaccluer.com

[TapsTrumpeter]

[PiCK Kanstul]

WAKE UP- you have more than 2 disgruntled gentlemen here. maybe it's time for a poll. If what you are doing isn't illegal, it sure is dirty pool. I am completley disgusted by what you are doing.

You should have named your organization Burglars across America.
I checked the meta tags on you website. here are some keywords.
>>>>
Taps, BuglesAcrossAmerica, Bugles Across America, taps bugler, bugles across america, buglesacrossamerica,


Your tactics are a little familiar, even the colorfull bold font,,,,,,Do you have a brother in Canada named Alex?

[FTee]

[extromba]

Nice job TapsTrumpeter . . . not only have you registered an infringing domain name and are using a confusingly similar source indicator on your site, but you also apparently have metatags that purposefully attempt to misdirect people intending to reach Bugles Across America web site. You have managed to utilize every method known to the federal courts for engaging in trademark infringement via the web.

Bravo . . . you really are a piece of work.

[jpellett]

After Mark's initial post and before any comments I emailed him about joining and thought nothing of it. Then the comments started coming about how bad it is for professional trumpet players to charge for their services which made me want to support Mark's endeavor more. Then the comments started about his antiwar links being treasonous and you people disgusted me in your contempt both for the victims of our war and for the liberties we have in this country to express even unpopular views. I couldn't take your side there and it made me want support Mark more. Then I the discussion turned to Mark's marketing practices and after reading all of that I can't support Mark and no longer wish to be associated with him. Except for the several people who kept their criticisms to his marketing this was ugly on all sides and most people involved should be ashamed.

Jason Pellett
_________________
http://www.jasonpellett.com

[tapsbugler]

[FTee]

Thanks for the info, Taps bugler. That really is enlightening.

[TapsTrumpeter]