they did this to bay area dj, Mere, a few years ago. Didn't know they had they where so connected to the streets.
Are you saying this Bay dude was sued for the 'FOR DUMMIES' thing too?
I remeber some break records from a few years back that went away because of use of the "For Dummies" theme.... I don't know who put em out
I thought DJ Fingaz put out a "DJing for dummies" break record and the artwork looked like one of the "For dummies" book. I heard he got hit with a cease order as well.
I think the 45 king may have done something similar.
they have no case... if all they have is you using the 2 words "for dummies" in conjunction in the title of your album... they'll lose in court. it's not like you ripped off the artwork they use for their books or anything. if you're worried about it though, just switch the last letter to Z... "houston for dummiez"... it'll make it not show up in their automated searches... and besides, you cant have a hiphop album without at least one misspelled word, right?
I just got a legal letter from the company that publishes the For Dummies books saying they want me to cease and desist with Houston For Dummies and send them a report of my profits.
Ouch! Sorry to hear this. I hope they don't ask you to surrender your remaining stock. Hopefully you didn't make any profit yet.
they have no case... if all they have is you using the 2 words "for dummies" in conjunction in the title of your album... they'll lose in court.
Yeah, but I don't think ayres or JD have or want to spend the time/money in court that it would take for that.
i'm not saying go to court... i'm saying dont take em seriously. 'cause in reality, they have no case. nowhere in any shape or form, could anyone confuse his CD with any of their products. it's as clear as day.
they have no case... if all they have is you using the 2 words "for dummies" in conjunction in the title of your album... they'll lose in court.
Yeah, but I don't think ayres or JD have or want to spend the time/money in court that it would take for that.
i'm not saying go to court... i'm saying dont take em seriously. 'cause in reality, they have no case. nowhere in any shape or form, could anyone confuse his CD with any of their products. it's as clear as day.
I think you maybe wrong, my friend had to change the name of his record shop when Warner Brothers objected, there are two types of infringement one of which is direct and the other is indirect i.e. could cause confusion in the eyes of the public. When my friend took legal adsvice he was told it depended on how the trademark was registerd. Either way he was also told that right or wrong Warner Brothers could just tie him up in sooo much legal action that he would end up bankrupt. In the end they came to an agreement where he changed the name of the shop and WB took posession of all material with logos on(bags/t-shirts/letterheads etc.) and he also had to make a sizeable donation to a charity of their choice. Tread carefully mate...
They have people who all they do is surf the web looking for copywrite infringement. Some hired bozo googling "For Dummies" and sending cease and desist letters. I wouldn't sweat this shit[/b].
You can't actually use sweat this shit or similar variations. The folks at Don't Sweat the Small Stuff?? will jump your ass!
It's a dick move, but they have to protect their copyright.
I just thought of this... it is excellent reading material if you can find it. A couple years ago I read a webpage about a couple that was sued by disney for selling items on ebay made from fabric with disney trademarks, fought back themselves w/o a lawyer, and won.[/b] The best part about this was on their webpage, they detailed exactly how they defeated them.[/b] It was an excellent read but I don't think I have the link anymore. It went exactly towards fair use... and not only did they defeat Disney, the defeated many others as well.
What it basically came down to was that they sent these cease and desists notes without much thought and when it came down to it, they (disney) were fucked. It didn't hold up.
This is an excellent page, fucking excellent. It also involves fighting back against certain companies for cancellation of ebay auctions - check it out ebay sellers[/b].
Some companies defeated:
Disney Warner Brothers M&M / Mars Frederick's of Hollywood[/b]
They have people who all they do is surf the web looking for copywrite infringement. Some hired bozo googling "For Dummies" and sending cease and desist letters. I wouldn't sweat this shit.
yeah, a cease and desist order is pretty commonplace. Think of it as them saying "Please alter the title and we'll leave you alone. If you don't, then we'll let the dogs out." Same thing happened to Dangermouse with the gray album. There's also some sort of unwritten rule in the music industry that if you're not making money, or it's under 10,000 pieces they generally will let it slide.
My boys in LA got a letter from Herbie Hancock because they were producing beats under the name Headhunters, so they changed the spelling to Headhunterz and they were OK.
aint true. some fuckin lawyers did shit dont even know him. not much went down i hear. he dont really care tthat much i hear. keep my ears to thhe ground
This is an excellent page, fucking excellent. It also involves fighting back against certain companies for cancellation of ebay auctions - check it out ebay sellers[/b].
Some companies defeated:
Disney Warner Brothers M&M / Mars Frederick's of Hollywood[/b]
and more. Peep it.
That site is great. Nice to read small business beating big business.
Comments
I think the 45 king may have done something similar.
?????
Ouch! Sorry to hear this. I hope they don't ask you to surrender your remaining stock. Hopefully you didn't make any profit yet.
...the mouse DOES love the cheese
i'm not saying go to court... i'm saying dont take em seriously. 'cause in reality, they have no case. nowhere in any shape or form, could anyone confuse his CD with any of their products. it's as clear as day.
I think you maybe wrong, my friend had to change the name of his record shop when Warner Brothers objected, there are two types of infringement one of which is direct and the other is indirect i.e. could cause confusion in the eyes of the public.
When my friend took legal adsvice he was told it depended on how the trademark was registerd.
Either way he was also told that right or wrong Warner Brothers could just tie him up in sooo much legal action that he would end up bankrupt.
In the end they came to an agreement where he changed the name of the shop and WB took posession of all material with logos on(bags/t-shirts/letterheads etc.) and he also had to make a sizeable donation to a charity of their choice.
Tread carefully mate...
Looks like they are going after bloggers, too. Wow.
Adding a "z" at the end would simply place it in the second category of causing confusion in the mind of the public.
I'd assume the same thing, but I know "The Grassroots" contacted "Da Grassroots" because of the name similarity...
VS
^This made me spray my coffee on the screen. Oh, and total:
You can't actually use sweat this shit or similar variations. The folks at Don't Sweat the Small Stuff?? will jump your ass!
I just thought of this... it is excellent reading material if you can find it. A couple years ago I read a webpage about a couple that was sued by disney for selling items on ebay made from fabric with disney trademarks, fought back themselves w/o a lawyer, and won.[/b] The best part about this was on their webpage, they detailed exactly how they defeated them.[/b] It was an excellent read but I don't think I have the link anymore. It went exactly towards fair use... and not only did they defeat Disney, the defeated many others as well.
What it basically came down to was that they sent these cease and desists notes without much thought and when it came down to it, they (disney) were fucked. It didn't hold up.
I'll try to find it. Excellent story.
Tabberone.com
This is an excellent page, fucking excellent. It also involves fighting back against certain companies for cancellation of ebay auctions - check it out ebay sellers[/b].
Some companies defeated:
Disney
Warner Brothers
M&M / Mars
Frederick's of Hollywood[/b]
and more. Peep it.
yeah, a cease and desist order is pretty commonplace. Think of it as them saying "Please alter the title and we'll leave you alone. If you don't, then we'll let the dogs out." Same thing happened to Dangermouse with the gray album. There's also some sort of unwritten rule in the music industry that if you're not making money, or it's under 10,000 pieces they generally will let it slide.
My boys in LA got a letter from Herbie Hancock because they were producing beats under the name Headhunters, so they changed the spelling to Headhunterz and they were OK.
That site is great. Nice to read small business beating big business.
if anyone else is still sleeping, consider this a wake up call!