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DJ Crew name copyright infringement?!

Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
edited May 2007 in Strut Central
So my little 2-man DJ crew took the name Tortilla Factory about 6 years ago after finding a record by the Tejano group who recorded one or two funk cuts. I found an LP of theirs with a crude image of a tortilla press spitting out records. I liked that idea so we used the name. Today I get this in our myspace inbox: Hi Guys,The name "Tortilla Factory" has been my musical trademark since 1973 and I have 14 albums and 8 CD'sto prove this.You need to stop using my name if it is associated withe the music biz.thank you, Tony HamI'm pretty sure this is the owner/manager of the group as I've seen his name before. My first reaction was "fuuuuuuuuck that," but what do y'all think? I mean, it's not like we do major shit with that name. Our weekly just ended after 3 1/2 years (club was sold) but we do other relatively small gigs under that name once in a while.Also, looks like dude's myspace page was hacked. Trip out.Herm

  Comments

  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,633 Posts
    You're both fucking with the Bay!

    http://cbs5.com/video/?id=20868@kpix.dayport.com
  • johmbolayajohmbolaya 4,472 Posts
    If you have to, change your name slightly. Torta Casa, I don't know. Do a search for trademarks, and see if they have a legitimate claim for the name.
  • hcrinkhcrink 8,729 Posts
    Tortilla_crates!
  • crossingscrossings 946 Posts
    I'VE BEEN USING THE NAME "200 TORTILLA FACTORIES" SINCE BEFORE EITHER ONE OF YOU BITERS EVER EVEN TRIED A DAMN QUESADILLA!! NEITHER ONE OF YOU EVEN OWNS A TORTILLA FACTORY!! I GOT 200 OF EM!! WHY YOU GOTTA FUCK UP MY GAME LIKE THAT?? I'M ASKING YOU NICELY... PLEASE CHANGE YOUR NAME!!
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    I'VE BEEN USING THE NAME "200 TORTILLA FACTORIES" SINCE BEFORE EITHER ONE OF YOU BITERS EVER EVEN TRIED A DAMN QUESADILLA!! NEITHER ONE OF YOU EVEN OWNS A TORTILLA FACTORY!! I GOT 200 OF EM!! WHY YOU GOTTA FUCK UP MY GAME LIKE THAT?? I'M ASKING YOU NICELY... PLEASE CHANGE YOUR NAME!!

    Crink 'n Crossings,

    Does this have something to do with Raj's temporary 300Crates name change? If so, plaese to point me in the direction of said thread so I may understand.

    Herm
  • crossingscrossings 946 Posts
    http://www.soulstrut.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=862069&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1&nt=3
  • DrJoelDrJoel 932 Posts
    Is Tony Ham an old school graf writer? He's probably mad fumugated right now.

    Tread lightly.
  • G_BalliandoG_Balliando 3,916 Posts
    99Tortillas
  • BeatnicholasBeatnicholas 1,005 Posts
    I'VE BEEN USING THE NAME "200 TORTILLA FACTORIES" SINCE BEFORE EITHER ONE OF YOU BITERS EVER EVEN TRIED A DAMN QUESADILLA!! NEITHER ONE OF YOU EVEN OWNS A TORTILLA FACTORY!! I GOT 200 OF EM!! WHY YOU GOTTA FUCK UP MY GAME LIKE THAT?? I'M ASKING YOU NICELY... PLEASE CHANGE YOUR NAME!!

    HAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAH
  • TREWTREW 2,037 Posts
    biter.

    but really though, is dude still using the name? i know absolutely nothing about copyright law, but if they're not releasing new material it would seem that you guys could have fair use.

    like w/ platinum pied pipers, they had to change their name because of some UK group who was/is recording under that name. but if the tortilla factory guys aren't still in the biz, it's not like anyone would get them confused with a DJ crew. that's unless you guys rock tejano sets...
  • keithvanhornkeithvanhorn 3,855 Posts
    So my little 2-man DJ crew took the name Tortilla Factory about 6 years ago after finding a record by the Tejano group who recorded one or two funk cuts. I found an LP of theirs with a crude image of a tortilla press spitting out records. I liked that idea so we used the name. Today I get this in our myspace inbox:

    Hi Guys,
    The name "Tortilla Factory" has been my musical trademark since 1973 and I have 14 albums and 8 CD's
    to prove this.You need to stop using my name if it is associated withe the music biz.
    thank you, Tony Ham

    I'm pretty sure this is the owner/manager of the group as I've seen his name before. My first reaction was "fuuuuuuuuck that," but what do y'all think? I mean, it's not like we do major shit with that name. Our weekly just ended after 3 1/2 years (club was sold) but we do other relatively small gigs under that name once in a while.

    Herm



    Well, he didn't actually say that he is a federal and/or state trademark, so what he probably means is that he has established a trademark through usage. Btw, you can do a quick search on the federal trademark site to see if its there (just google "federal trademark").

    The legal issue is whether there would be any consumer confusion by your using a name which he has established in "the music biz". Without giving you any legal advice, i would say that it is highly that joe shmoe is gonna think a two man dj group is the same thing as a funk band. If you write him back and in a nice way tell him that you are only gigging once in a while but would like to keep the name, I think he will back off. You could also call his bluff and say you did a search of the federal and state trademark database and his group is not on there, nor did "your attorney" believe that there would be any "consumer confusion" due to the fact that you both perform in different musical markets.
  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    99Tortillas

    Corny.
  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,391 Posts
    If he really had the intention and the means to fight this then his lawyer would have sent that mail. Technically he's in the right.
  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts
    If he really had the intention and the means to fight this then his lawyer would have sent that mail. Technically he's in the right.

    Yeah, technically he is I guess.
  • Danno3000Danno3000 2,851 Posts
    If he really had the intention and the means to fight this then his lawyer would have sent that mail. Technically he's in the right.

    There's a difference between being legally and morally right and I'm not convinced that he's either.
  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    Change your name. Consider yourself blessed to get some attention. I been trying to get Fatback band to sue me for 10 years. They just don't give a fuck. I took the name after the salted pork product anyhow.

    Oh and...ask him if he has deadstock copies of the Lps/45s with the funk cuts.
  • G_BalliandoG_Balliando 3,916 Posts
    99Tortillas

    Corny.


    was that supposed to be a pun? haha.
  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    99Tortillas

    Corny.


    was that supposed to be a pun? haha.

    Yup.
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    Okay guys, he hit us up again so I've prepared this reply. I'm gonna blank out the actual name just in case. I tried to keep it somewhat light hence the little jokes.

    Can I get some feedback? Preferably from the law-based 'Strutters or those with a decent understanding of the music biz. (The "merely wannabes or impersonators" comment was referring to his little jab at us on his current myspace page.)

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


    Hello Mr. H**!

    Just to clarify some issues:

    1. T******* F****** was the name of a club night we used to DJ. At that club we played pretty much everything EXCEPT Country, Reggaeton, Opera, Classical and Tejano music. Nothing against those genres - personally I love me some Little Joe, Sunny Ozuna, Latin Breed, even some Richard & The Sun Demons - it's just that it wasn't that type of club. Our feet, and those of our dancefloor regulars, are firmly planted in Hip Hop soil.

    2. By word-of-mouth and popular opinion, we became known as the "T******* F****** DJ's."

    3. Notice I said "used to." We have not played that club night in close to 6 months. The reason? The club no longer exists.

    4. We have not made a penny off of any relation nor variation of the T******* F****** name since the club closed. That's not to say we haven't earned off our hobby (which, of course, is deejaying), but we did so individually under our own names.

    4. We were billed as "T******* F****** DJ's" on a flyer for a small house party about 4, maybe 5 months ago. (What can I say? It's hard to shake popular opinion.) Since then, we have not been featured nor billed under that name for any other event.

    5. Not once in the 4+ years of being referred to as "the T******* F****** DJ's" have people ever confused us with anything other than DJ's. (Well, except for one lady who tried to order tortillas from us. I referred her to my neighbor for a dozen de harina.) If we were attempting to be "merely wannabes or impersonators" it sure ain't working!

    Considering all this, I'm not sure how some legal wrangling would benefit anybody except lawyers. Are you upset that we have the "myspace.com/T*******F******" domain? If so, we never intended to beat anybody to the punch. It just happened to be available at the time. I mean, it's not like Myspace is new. We registered in November 2005 and THAT was considered late to the game! (Speaking of which, in researching I discovered that the "T*******F******.com" domain is available for sale. I don't need it, but I figured you may want to look into it before somebody else snatches it up!)

    So with regards to everything I mentioned above, what is exactly that you expect from us?

    Con respeto...

    Hermilo Guzman III

    P.S. Any copies of "Cokin' & Tokin'" or the LP with "Cookin'" lying around?
  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts
    O(Speaking of which, in researching I discovered that the "T*******F******.com" domain is available for sale. I don't need it, but I figured you may want to look into it before somebody else snatches it up!)

    nice, and great point.



    P.S. Any copies of "Cokin' & Tokin'" or the LP with "Cookin'" lying around?
  • bluesnagbluesnag 1,285 Posts
    Okay guys, he hit us up again so I've prepared this reply. I'm gonna blank out the actual name just in case. I tried to keep it somewhat light hence the little jokes.

    Can I get some feedback? Preferably from the law-based 'Strutters or those with a decent understanding of the music biz. (The "merely wannabes or impersonators" comment was referring to his little jab at us on his current myspace page.)

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


    Hello Mr. H**!

    Just to clarify some issues:

    1. T******* F****** was the name of a club night we used to DJ. At that club we played pretty much everything EXCEPT Country, Reggaeton, Opera, Classical and Tejano music. Nothing against those genres - personally I love me some Little Joe, Sunny Ozuna, Latin Breed, even some Richard & The Sun Demons - it's just that it wasn't that type of club. Our feet, and those of our dancefloor regulars, are firmly planted in Hip Hop soil.

    2. By word-of-mouth and popular opinion, we became known as the "T******* F****** DJ's."

    3. Notice I said "used to." We have not played that club night in close to 6 months. The reason? The club no longer exists.

    4. We have not made a penny off of any relation nor variation of the T******* F****** name since the club closed. That's not to say we haven't earned off our hobby (which, of course, is deejaying), but we did so individually under our own names.

    4. We were billed as "T******* F****** DJ's" on a flyer for a small house party about 4, maybe 5 months ago. (What can I say? It's hard to shake popular opinion.) Since then, we have not been featured nor billed under that name for any other event.

    5. Not once in the 4+ years of being referred to as "the T******* F****** DJ's" have people ever confused us with anything other than DJ's. (Well, except for one lady who tried to order tortillas from us. I referred her to my neighbor for a dozen de harina.) If we were attempting to be "merely wannabes or impersonators" it sure ain't working!

    Considering all this, I'm not sure how some legal wrangling would benefit anybody except lawyers. Are you upset that we have the "myspace.com/T*******F******" domain? If so, we never intended to beat anybody to the punch. It just happened to be available at the time. I mean, it's not like Myspace is new. We registered in November 2005 and THAT was considered late to the game! (Speaking of which, in researching I discovered that the "T*******F******.com" domain is available for sale. I don't need it, but I figured you may want to look into it before somebody else snatches it up!)

    So with regards to everything I mentioned above, what is exactly that you expect from us?

    Con respeto...

    Hermilo Guzman III

    P.S. Any copies of "Cokin' & Tokin'" or the LP with "Cookin'" lying around?

    I'm no lawyer or anything, but this reads like a perfectly reasonable, logical, and respectful letter. If he keeps on bugging you I think we can all agree that he's just a dick, and there's nothing more you can do.
  • Young_PhonicsYoung_Phonics 8,039 Posts
    Okay guys, he hit us up again so I've prepared this reply. I'm gonna blank out the actual name just in case. I tried to keep it somewhat light hence the little jokes.

    Can I get some feedback? Preferably from the law-based 'Strutters or those with a decent understanding of the music biz. (The "merely wannabes or impersonators" comment was referring to his little jab at us on his current myspace page.)

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


    Hello Mr. H**!

    Just to clarify some issues:

    1. T******* F****** was the name of a club night we used to DJ. At that club we played pretty much everything EXCEPT Country, Reggaeton, Opera, Classical and Tejano music. Nothing against those genres - personally I love me some Little Joe, Sunny Ozuna, Latin Breed, even some Richard & The Sun Demons - it's just that it wasn't that type of club. Our feet, and those of our dancefloor regulars, are firmly planted in Hip Hop soil.

    2. By word-of-mouth and popular opinion, we became known as the "T******* F****** DJ's."

    3. Notice I said "used to." We have not played that club night in close to 6 months. The reason? The club no longer exists.

    4. We have not made a penny off of any relation nor variation of the T******* F****** name since the club closed. That's not to say we haven't earned off our hobby (which, of course, is deejaying), but we did so individually under our own names.

    4. We were billed as "T******* F****** DJ's" on a flyer for a small house party about 4, maybe 5 months ago. (What can I say? It's hard to shake popular opinion.) Since then, we have not been featured nor billed under that name for any other event.

    5. Not once in the 4+ years of being referred to as "the T******* F****** DJ's" have people ever confused us with anything other than DJ's. (Well, except for one lady who tried to order tortillas from us. I referred her to my neighbor for a dozen de harina.) If we were attempting to be "merely wannabes or impersonators" it sure ain't working!

    Considering all this, I'm not sure how some legal wrangling would benefit anybody except lawyers. Are you upset that we have the "myspace.com/T*******F******" domain? If so, we never intended to beat anybody to the punch. It just happened to be available at the time. I mean, it's not like Myspace is new. We registered in November 2005 and THAT was considered late to the game! (Speaking of which, in researching I discovered that the "T*******F******.com" domain is available for sale. I don't need it, but I figured you may want to look into it before somebody else snatches it up!)

    So with regards to everything I mentioned above, what is exactly that you expect from us?

    Con respeto...

    Hermilo Guzman III

    P.S. Any copies of "Cokin' & Tokin'" or the LP with "Cookin'" lying around?

    I'm no lawyer or anything, but this reads like a perfectly reasonable, logical, and respectful letter. If he keeps on bugging you I think we can all agree that he's just a dick, and there's nothing more you can do.




    That was hilarious, and just to make this record related, I'm listening to the Sapo. Some decent latin cuts and of course the one with the haaaaat breakbeatrare.

    that dude is a
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts


    that dude is a

    Oh shit!!!

    That pic takes me waaaaay back. I forgot I had that in my online files. My ex-girl took that for me and refused to tell me where it was. I passed that building every single day on my way to her house and she thought it was hilarious that I never noticed it. I used to bug her all the time to tell me where it was and she was like "nope, you gotta find it on your own!"


    Anyways, thanks for your advice guys, girl and Young_Phonics (are you still between operations?).
  • DJCireDJCire 729 Posts
    Send and post the reply...


    Good luck mang
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    Send and post the reply...


    Good luck mang

    H*rmilio,
    Thanks for the heads up on your postion about this issue. No problem now that we know the story behind all this. I did not take into consideration that someone might use TF name in the music biz since we were the only Vatos in the music biz crazy enough to use that name.
    We were way ahead of our times and into the Chicanismo thing and didn't care what anybody thought of our name ........especially los pinches gringos*[/b].
    That's why we stuck with it and to this day we have an incredible fan base we never thought we would have.

    Although we stopped touring for a few years our fans and the Texas music industry have been encouraging us to come back into the biz and do some shows and also to record again.
    T*rtillla Records is currently involved in two current projects Urban R&B and a Salsa [Album] I had never thought about the Biz taking off again but it has and I am also taking steps to protect our trademark which I had never done before. Pretty soon there will be consequences for the use of the name and we're not looking forward to litigating with any body since music and bringing the party to the people is our goal in life. Once again, thanks for clearing up this matter and I wish you all the best.
    suerte, T*** H*m

    *[/young_phoniks?]
  • Young_PhonicsYoung_Phonics 8,039 Posts
    Send and post the reply...


    Good luck mang

    H*rmilio,
    Thanks for the heads up on your postion about this issue. No problem now that we know the story behind all this. I did not take into consideration that someone might use TF name in the music biz since we were the only Vatos in the music biz crazy enough to use that name.
    We were way ahead of our times and into the Chicanismo thing and didn't care what anybody thought of our name ........especially los pinches gringos*[/b].
    That's why we stuck with it and to this day we have an incredible fan base we never thought we would have.

    Although we stopped touring for a few years our fans and the Texas music industry have been encouraging us to come back into the biz and do some shows and also to record again.
    T*rtillla Records is currently involved in two current projects Urban R&B and a Salsa [Album] I had never thought about the Biz taking off again but it has and I am also taking steps to protect our trademark which I had never done before. Pretty soon there will be consequences for the use of the name and we're not looking forward to litigating with any body since music and bringing the party to the people is our goal in life. Once again, thanks for clearing up this matter and I wish you all the best.
    suerte, T*** H*m

    *[/young_phoniks?]





    I have ways
  • DJCireDJCire 729 Posts
    Send and post the reply...


    Good luck mang

    H*rmilio,
    Thanks for the heads up on your postion about this issue. No problem now that we know the story behind all this. I did not take into consideration that someone might use TF name in the music biz since we were the only Vatos in the music biz crazy enough to use that name.
    We were way ahead of our times and into the Chicanismo thing and didn't care what anybody thought of our name ........especially los pinches gringos*[/b].
    That's why we stuck with it and to this day we have an incredible fan base we never thought we would have.

    Although we stopped touring for a few years our fans and the Texas music industry have been encouraging us to come back into the biz and do some shows and also to record again.
    T*rtillla Records is currently involved in two current projects Urban R&B and a Salsa [Album] I had never thought about the Biz taking off again but it has and I am also taking steps to protect our trademark which I had never done before. Pretty soon there will be consequences for the use of the name and we're not looking forward to litigating with any body since music and bringing the party to the people is our goal in life. Once again, thanks for clearing up this matter and I wish you all the best.
    suerte, T*** H*m

    *[/young_phoniks?]


    Nothing about extra records laying around? Dammit! H*rm, I only saw that record once but always keep an eye out for it... The hunt continues...
  • empanadamnempanadamn 1,462 Posts
    have people ever confused us with anything other than DJ's. (Well, except for one lady who tried to order tortillas from us. I referred her to my neighbor for a dozen de harina.)[/b]

    [gritos![/b]]
  • mylatencymylatency 10,475 Posts
    Found 4 of their LPs today and I thought of this thread...
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    Found 4 of their LPs today and I thought of this thread...

    Lucky bastard!

    Send 'em to me! Or at least one!
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