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In lugnet.publish, mattdm@mattdm.org (Matthew Miller) writes:
> It's an interesting point. Network Solutions gets involved in trademark
> disputes over second level domains, but I've never heard of them caring
> about what goes on under that -- it's not, so to speak, their domain. And if
> you're providing your own DNS, there really isn't anyone else "above" you --
> it's not like your 'net connection. Curious -- does anyone know of any
> precedent?
IANAL and I don't know about precedent of other third-level domains other
than the legowww.homepages.com incident in 1995-1996. Here's a bit more
info...
David Koblas, who ran the legowww.homepages.com site from 1995 to 1996,
posted a copy of a letter he received in 1996 from TLG outside trademark
counsel on the site for all to read (as an explanation as to why the site
would be going down). I saved a copy of it in April, 1996 and have appended
a copy below as a historical artifact.
He (Koblas) didn't publish copies of the other two letters he received, but
he did display this (third) one at legowww.legohomepages.com homepage for
quite some time. (IIRC, he simply replaced the homepage with the letter and
a brief note above it.)
Michael Dorneich also has some (unrelated) letters at his website, just as
general information...
http://tortie.me.uiuc.edu/~dorneich/lego/adventures/adventures.html
--Todd
[followups to .publish]
____________________________________________________________________________
Weiss Dawid Fross Zelnick & Lehrman, P.C.
633 Third Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10017-6754
Telephone: (212) 953-9090
Cable: LEHMARKS NEWYORK
TELEX: ATT 422455
Facsimile: (212) 953-10377 (212) 983-0311
March 25, 1996
Mr. David Koblas
Homepages, Inc.
257 Castro St. Suite 219
Mount View, CA 94041
Re: legowww.homepages.com/
Dear Mr. Koblas
We are outside trademark counsel to Interlego, A.G., owner of the LEGO
trademark. We are writing to you concerning your use of the server name
legowww, and the other outstanding items raised in Mr. Arakas' letter of
September 12, 1995. As you know, Mr. Arakas has written you twice since
that letter in order to resolve their server name problem, but you have
never gotten back to him.
Our client has now asked us to contact you directly. As discussed below,
we are hoping to avoid the need to file a lawsuit, which unfortunately you
have be making necessary by your refusal to withdraw your use of the LEGO
trademark as a server name.
As I am sure you know, LEGO is among the most famous trademarks in the
world. It is a name standing for excellence, consistency and reliability.
It has been used for many, man years by our client as its stamp or
signature to designate those products and services which come only from,
or are under the control of the LEGO group of companies.
This is why your use of the LEGO mark as a server name causes us such
concern. We are convinced that internet users, whether casual or
experienced, upon seeing the legowww.homepages.com name, are likely to
believe that to be a worldwide website set up on client's behalf,
maintained for and pursuant to our client specifications. They will
expect the information accurate and current and will assume that whatever
information is being provided and whatever statements are bing made come
from or have our client's approval. In our opinion, your use of a
disclaimer will not effectively alter these expectations and assumptions.
Your use of client's trademark is this way not only disserves our client,
who is deprived of its right to control the good and services provided
under its mark, but also disserves the public who is being confused and
misled about he source of the information they are receiving. This is the
very harm that the trademark laws were designed to prevent.
Accordingly, the action of your company make it liable to our client for
trademark infringement and unfair competition. Putting aside the issue of
monetary recover, our client is entitled to a court ordered injunction
against your company should you pursue in the use of this mark. We thus
again, and regrettably for the last time, request that you voluntarily
undertake to discontinue this use and that you advise us of this
undertaking in writing.
We trust that you will not force use to litigation, but if you do we will
seek as full a recovery of costs and our legal fees as possible given that,
under all the circumstances, you should not be requiring us to incur these
expenses.
I look forward to hearing from you. If we do not hear back by the end of
the month we will then proceed to take whatever action we deem necessary,
without any further notice to you. We hope you do not make this necessary.
Very truly yours,
signed
Carol F. Simkin.
CFS:saf
cc: Network Solutions, Inc.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Lego at Gerf.Org
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| (...) It's an interesting point. Network Solutions gets involved in trademark disputes over second level domains, but I've never heard of them caring about what goes on under that -- it's not, so to speak, their domain. And if you're providing your (...) (25 years ago, 28-Sep-99, to lugnet.publish, lugnet.general)
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