Dispair.com trademarks :-( , plans to sue millions.

[Joe]

I love these people, and have orderd a few callanders for friends and family in the past, if you havent checked out there site in the past, make sure you do it today, while your at it, read there latest pressrelease

http://www.despair.com/frownonthis.html

[Genotoxin]

Darnit. :-(
Errr they're gonna hunt me down now.. Oh well.

[chrispadfield]

this is brilliant

Since that time the company has, through the use of the FBI's controversial new "Carnivore" Internet wiretapping system, surreptitiously monitored unencrypted Internet email and compiled a list of over 7,000,000 individuals who have used the ":-(" emoticon in email.

haha

require defendants to submit a handwritten letter which repeats the phrase ":-( is a registered trademark of Despair, Inc." one-thousand times.

[nadine]

Isn't that kinda like registering #%!###%! ? Okay, I am not a comic strip writer, but you get the point.

[John]

Well we're ok here because we use : (

[nadine]

It's the principle of the matter. I was so tempted to e-mail them to say bite-me, but I am technicaly at work. Bite me may not be considered appropriate business decorum.

[Wayne Luke]

ummmm


satire?

[nadine]

perhaps. or just plain *itchy-ness on thier part. one of my pet peeves is corporate stupidity. But then, sometimes even bad publicity can be good. Not so stupid after all, particularly given the theme of the site? Regardless, enough to set my teeth on edge. I can be rather *itchy myself, particularly when sleepy.

[Edited by nadine on 01-12-2001 at 09:02 AM]

[chrispadfield]

Originally posted by wluke
ummmm


satire?

yes!!!

[John]

Oh...

Originally posted by chrispadfield

Originally posted by wluke
ummmm


satire?

yes!!!

And there was me thinking this was serious


I hope everyone in this thread was just being sarcastic...

[Susan]

John...the lawsuit is serious, I believe, but I think it's as a commentary on how stupid some of these web copyright laws are that are taking shape. (remember the hubbub about Amazon copyrighting the "one click ordering" or the company in the UK that holds the copyright to hyperlinks?)

[chrispadfield]

Susan, come on it is not serious. The patent is real, yes but they are only doing it to protect there logo so no one else can protend to be that company, not to stop people using the "smiley" (the use of the smiley is what makes the logo worth anything!)

You can't really think that phrases like this are being serious can you?

require defendants to submit a handwritten letter which repeats the phrase ":-( is a registered trademark of Despair, Inc." one-thousand times.

[Me2Be]

I don't know about all of you, but that line about having to write it 1000 times makes me think of Bart Simpson.

I looked through the news services this morning and didn't see anything about it, so I think it is a hoax too. If it was real, all the newswires would have it I would think.

[chrispadfield]

there is also a difference to a "trademark" and a "patent". One you charge someone else to use something (like one click ordering or bt's infamous hyperlink one) as opposed to a trademark which is down to passing off as another company.

[chrispadfield]

the trademark is real though !

http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=75502288

hehe or putting this on your own company website:

Once again, Jeff has proven to be a true innovator. He's really inspired a new movement in the dotcom universe- frivolous, destructive intellectual property lawsuits. I couldn't be happier to be a part of the revolution

lol