copyright infringement?

[mikebr]

What is the name of your state? georgia

georgia.
Ok first off i received an email from a certain company lets say "Quarter" now the name of this company is a word in the dictionary. Me and a bunch of guys decide to make a site and call it "Quarter Online". (Important note: the name of the company is one word) It is a nonprofit site and have made absolutely no money from the name. Now there are also alot of other people, including 2 bands that use this name that we are unaffiliated with. Actually one of those bands pops up BEFORE the companies site on a search engine. Now i emailed the rep back saying we are more than willing to change the name, have received no profit from using it, and are sorry if we have caused the company any problems.

Heres the exact email he sent with words changed:
"My name is Bobby Brown with Really Cool Finance the legal representative with QuarterT, makers of Quarter. We are writing to inform you of a possible copyright infringement suit for teh use of your name. We will be contacting you via phone through your listed information with approriate governing bodies. You will be hearing from us soon.

B.Brown.

Am i in violation??

 

[divgradcurl]

Are you sure they said "copyright infringement" and not "trademark infringement?" A single word cannot be copyrighted -- but it can be trademarked. As far as "Am i in violation," that'll depend on all of the facts of the situation, and there is no way to tell without knwing a lot more.

 

[mikebr]

well in the email the guy said copyright infringement. we dont use their logo at all, its just text that says "Quarter". Also they have it copyrighted as "QUARTER (R)" all capitalized if you do a search. Now i was thinking the only reason they are mad is that becuase if you do a search in a search engine it says their name and maybe another Quarter (maybe the band) and then us: "It's Quarter M*@$erf&*#ers: A group of guys....." We clearly define ourselves not as the "Cinnamon Stick" maker "Quarter", but something completely different. We dont even use the same title, it says more than just "Quarter". I mean ive done searches for companies and had sites come up that i knew i didnt want to go to that had bad words in it.

 

[divgradcurl]

Well, as I said before, in general, you can't copyright a word, whether it be the title of a book or the name of a company.

However, it is quite likely that the other people may have obtained trademark protection for the name of their company.

So, what this means is, nobody can tell you whether or not you are in violation or not -- you'll need to wait until they come up with further info and allegations before anyone can determine what exactly is going on here.

You can do a seach at www.uspto.gov to see if they have a registered trademark in the name.

 

[mikebr]

their reply
"If the name is changed we will not have a problem. I am a reasonable person. I will tell you it does not have to be changed much to be a totally different entity. We will how ever need to look into whether or not there has been or will be financial game (gain?) under the name. Our legal team has looked over your site and I believe it does say there is a pending financial gain, which would change things, and there would be a reimbursement issue. In reference to the band which has no play in this issue. It is also being taken care of, and the law does not negate that a word in the dictionary or not cannot be profited on and used for business rights. We will stay in touch. In the mean time I do suggest the change to your name, but it will not necessarily stop all finance reimbursements, but will stop any more from occurring. "

ha, but we gained no money from the site, we actually lost money paying for the site. i emailed him back asking if he meant we kept money from them or that we gained money? i think they beleive that the banners on the bottom created revenue through traffic to them. how could they even begin to see if we gained money through it?

 

[mikebr]

Well i looked up their company name and sure enough its there, and i think all of them are in all caps. the companys been around for like 40 or more years. i still think its bull crap that you can trademark a word. Doesnt this technically mean i couldnt make a shirt that had that word on it. ITS A WORD, do the dictionaries have to get rights too. golly. i think our legal system in that respect is retarded.

 

[divgradcurl]

You can trademark a single word, even a common one, in certain circumstances. Of course that doesn't mean that you can't use the word, or that a dictionary has to get permisison to include the word in the dictionary. It does mean, however, that you cannot use the word in such a way that it "confuses" consumers.

 

[mikebr]

yeah that makes sense. but i clearly declared that it wasnt a company that made the certain product made by that company. its not even a product at all. heres basically waht our description was on search engines: "It's "Quarter" (cuss word) "Quarter" Online. Bunch of guys from (city) do stuff and tape it. " i get the impression taht the law only applies if youre big enough to make a difference. as if theyre intimidated that our site comes after there's on a search and we arent even a multimillion dollar corporation thats existed for 40 years or even a corporation at all. is it my fault that i know how to advertise a website and make it public and also find the word "quarter" witty. i guess so.

can you copyright "the" you could make a killing off of that.

 

[mikebr]

heres his latest email:
If you cut all relations to the "Quarter" name, I have spoken to the chief officers and they will not pursue any future litigation. if you do not end all ties to the name you will be responsible for future losses. Your site stated that you were going to be gaining financially threw (through?) a television spot which is what initiated this probe. (no it didnt, it just said we were gonna be on tv) If your "quarter" brand (it wasnt a brand) is found in the past or in the future to have any financial gain with that name , YOU WILL BE responsible for any and all reimbursements of your gain plus any litigation fees and fines applicable by law. When you have completed your termination from our name please contact me and we will look into any past and future gains. Please keep in mind that since you have been cooperating this is a "favor" to you. If you in the future at ANY time gain anything financially under this name or in association with this name, You will be held responsible no questions asked. I thank you for your time.

these guys are dillusional. it never said wed get money and we dont have a product. maybe if they wouldve saved what we said before we deleted it, they couldve used our own words instead of putting words in our mouths. i know more about law, grammar, and how to site sources correctly than them.

 

[dworrill]

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.

Trademark and Domain Names:
Panavision vs. Toeppen 04/14/98 9th Circuit Ct. of Appeals
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=9th&navby=docket&no=9755467

Cybersquatting:
Electronics Boutique Holdings v. Zuccarini 10/30/00 US District Court, EDPA
http://www.gigalaw.com/library/electronicsboutique-zuccarini-2000-10-30-p1.html

Sounds like your adversary is full of #$%. He seems to be selectively bending factors.

DAM

 

[dworrill]

Check out this article:
http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2001-all/kubiszyn-2001-01-all.html

 

[divgradcurl]

yeah that makes sense. but i clearly declared that it wasnt a company that made the certain product made by that company.

Unfortunately in your case, this is really irrelevant. "Confusion" in the trademark sense applies as soon as someone clicks on a link -- so, if by your skills you get your "Quarter" listed higher than a trademarked "Quarter," consumers may be "confused" and click on your link thinking that they are going to the trademarked "Quarter" site. Even though your site clearly states that you are not the other guy, it doesn't matter -- "confusion" has already occured. Now, whether the "confusion" is actionable or not, well, that's a question for the courts, who can review ALL of the relevant evidence in question and make a decision...

i get the impression taht the law only applies if youre big enough to make a difference.

Nope. Whether or not you are making money or not is irrelevant to the question of "confusion." Now, if you were making money, your DAMAGES might be higher, but that doesn't impact the question of whether or not "confusion" occured.

You really have two choices -- you can ignore these guys and hope they will go away, or you can comply with their requests. If you choose to ignore them, you might want to have a quick chat with a local attorney who can review all of the actual facts and advise you whether you are risking significant exposure or not. If you decide to comply with their request to change your domain name, make sure you get something in writing that says they will not come after you in the future. Again, the services of a local attorney might be cheap insurance.

 

[mikebr]

they said it would be ok if i just completely dropped the "quarter" name. they also said it would be ok if we changed it to "quar ter". when they click on our old link in the search engine it comes up to a page that says:

"THIS SITE IS NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH THE "QUARTER" NAME OR BRAND. THIS SITE'S NAME IS "QUAR TER". If you wish to enter "QUAR TER: Group of guys from "wonderland" that mix things up and film it. " Then click and bookmark the new site here (link) IF YOU WISH TO ENTER "QUARTER" GO BACK.

he never made specific comment on the search engine link or its confusion. personally i dont think eh knew what was going on. he even said "the advice i gave you is usually paid for and i will no longer give you advice"

do you think im ok with that disclaimer on the page?