Arthur Chandler rhetoricized and composed the following:
>
> Here comes a VERY interesting issue. As some of you/us know, I'm a
> wizard (= system administrator) on an all-text virtual reality called
> BayMOO. In this MOO, folks create virtual objects, rooms, etc. One player
> created a room called Mystical Crossroads. It has a one-sentence
> description, and leads to other, fantasy-themed rooms.
> You can access the MOO from the web. Our code allows us to make a
> webpage "on the fly," so that if you click on people's names who are in
> the MOO, you can see what objects they are carrying, look at their rooms,
> etc.
> Then, a few days ago, we received this letter -->
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>
> Date: Wed, 29 May 1996 19:47:52 -0400
> From: Storm <mystical1@zeus.jersey.net>
> To: request@baymoo.sfsu.edu
> Subject: Use of copyrighted name!
>
> To whom it may concern,
> Today after searching alta vista I was surprised to see another listing
> under Mystical Crossroads. Apparently you were not aware that this name
> is copyrighted, since it is the name of my Company. I would appreciate
> it if you would cease & desist from using same.
>
> Yours truly,
> Richard Kowalski
> President
> Mystical Crossroads
> --------------------------------------------------------
>
> If you think "Absurd!" -- so did I, and so did other MOO wizards when
> they saw this. But the issue is not so simple, as I found out when I
> mailed EFF about the problem. If you like, I can post that response as well.
Yeah, I'd like to see the EFF response.
> Any ideas?
Well, my first thought was "I hope you told this guy to fuck
off," but that's probably a hasty gut reaction.
First, you can't copyright the name of a company so the guy's
just blowing smoke. If he actually knew what he was
talking about, he'd realize that you have to register the name
of a company as a trademark. Copyrights cannot apply to proper
names.
Second, even if he does have Mystical Crossroads trademarked,
there's nothing in trademark law that prohibits someone else
from using that same name as long as the businesses can't be
confused. For example, Underwood Typewriters can't sue
Underwood Devilled Ham for trademark infringement because no
one is going to get a can of bad devilled ham and think, "Hmmm,
those damn typewriter manufacturers!" If someone tried to start
up Underwood Word Processing, Inc., though, Underwood
Typewriters would probably have a leg to stand on because the
two company's products could be confused.
Third, a trademark doesn't prevent the words from being used as
the title of a creative work. For example, if I wanted to write
a novel called _Apple_ or an unauthorized non-fiction work
about IBM and called _IBM_, the respective computer companies
wouldn't be able to stop me. You could very easily argue that
"Mystical Crossroads" is the title of a creative work (i.e. the
text-based virtual room).
Fourth, it might be possible for you to somehow insert the robot
code into the MOO/HTML code to prevent Alta Vista & the like
from indexing the BayMOO web. This would probably satisfy the
guy, because no one in their right mind would be wandering
BayMOO and mistake a room named "Mystical Crossroads" for
whatever lame company this guy runs.
Fifth, what I would suggest doing first is writing him back,
explaining the origin of your particular "Mystical Crossroads"
and explaining how it in no way infringes upon the territory
marked out by the name of his company.
Sixth, if that doesn't work *then* tell him to fuck off. What's
he going to do? *Sue* you? Shyeah, right. Any sane lawyer is
going to tell him he doesn't have a leg to stand on, and any
nutso lawyer who takes the case is going to charge him a bucket
of cash for it. You let the idget spend money filing suit,
etc., then you say, "Okay, I'll change it" and leave the twit
hanging with a load of legal fees. You can only *hope* that he
tries to take you to court for damages to his company's good
name, at which point you get a savvy EFF or ACLU lawyer to
represent you pro bono and counter-sue for a satisfactory
amount of punitive damages for your wasted time.
(I just checked his Mystical Crossroads web page. Turns out
he's sells "New Age" products by mail order, so I doubt it's
the kind of company that could afford to even enter into a
legal battle.)
Caveat: I'm no trademark lawyer, though I've done a fair
amount of reading on it and am reasonably certain the above
remarks are remotely accurate.
In any event, the bottom line is it wouldn't be economic for
this idget to pursue legal action, so I'd ignore him unless he
becomes a major nuisance, e-mailing you every week. Then
complain to his postmaster.
-- Greg Ritter gritter@saturn.vcu.edu <--NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS! ritter@urvax.urich.edu http://www.urich.edu/~ritter-- CompLink (a comprehensive resources for Rhetoric & Composition teachers) http://www.urich.edu/~ritter/CompLink.html