Rodger 527 Posted June 25, 2009 Bah- if the lady said it was a decal for a sponsor of the vehicle- it should not be a problem. Your lawyer should have a hay day with this one. That is the way it seems things should be , but it isn't . No matter what was told to Lara , it was her responsibility to use the copyrighted stuff in a legal way . Many Lawyers will go with that attitude if they are charging a hourly rate & loose anyway ... YIKES .. Jury trial many hours there .. get a set price & hope the lawyer doesn't cave in because there is no incentive other than honor & doing the right thing . The person telling Lara what they did may be unethical ot guilty of breaking some laws , but that does not effect Lara's charge . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted June 25, 2009 Unfortunately, what is legal is not always right...and the fact is, copyright laws are the same as all others...they get passed to benefit whoever spends the most money lobbying the congressmen and Senators. The DMCA is a perfect example. It took the Supreme court to decide that I could make copies of my own CD's that I paid for(music) in spite of the RIAA throwing millions at congress to buy their votes. When the law favors acts of extortion...it is a bad law. And it IS extortion when they say "Pay or we will sue". waiting for your reply,Rodger. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rodger 527 Posted June 25, 2009 John , wait no longer I agree 100 % & you are EXACTLY right about the lobbying thing . When the laws are not right , good judges realize that & usually "adjust " the award/verdict . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laras4labs 4 Posted June 25, 2009 Great idea on the set price! I had to give him $250.00 just to get started. I better call him first thing in the am. I am willing to take a beating for my being wrong. I am NOT willing to sit back and take it in the a@@ for being misrepresented and lied to, which is why I am so upset. I can promise every single one of you, I won't even consider cutting a corporate logo without permission and I will NEVER print a detailed receipt again which is my kiss of death in this whole case because it makes it look like I sold the decal. And I will not ever buy in my entire life buy anything from black and decker. I am listing all of my dewalt junk on craigslist to get it out of my house. Switching to Kobalt and craftsman. With all of that being said, the funny thing is that my lawyer has already called me and has come up with a bunch of stuff on that Continental Enterprises. I can't wait to see what he has. According to him, it is a legal scam of some sort but I don't know what he means by that. It was on my voice mail, so I will find out in the morning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alien 11 Posted June 25, 2009 Great idea on the set price! I had to give him $250.00 just to get started. I better call him first thing in the am. I am willing to take a beating for my being wrong. I am NOT willing to sit back and take it in the a@@ for being misrepresented and lied to, which is why I am so upset. I can promise every single one of you, I won't even consider cutting a corporate logo without permission and I will NEVER print a detailed receipt again which is my kiss of death in this whole case because it makes it look like I sold the decal. And I will not ever buy in my entire life buy anything from black and decker. I am listing all of my dewalt junk on craigslist to get it out of my house. Switching to Kobalt and craftsman...../quote] This link will give you a little on what B&D owns. http://www.blackanddecker.com/CustomerCenter/Company-Information.aspx They own Porter cable and Dewalt. Porter Cable makes Craftsman power tools. Do not know about Kobalt. B&D also in with Hitachi Fingers in a lot of pies. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rodger 527 Posted June 25, 2009 It is a shame when people set somebody up like they did you ... asking for a detailed receipt . Do you have a company name & is it on the receipt ? There are ways to skirt around things , but not worth what the legal expense costs when something like this happens . I have seen a dog leash sell at a livestock auction ( it had a " free " dog on the end ) because Md law makes it illegal to auction dogs . I have seen people sell " envelopes " with free stuff inside , but this kind of things happens & it makes me sick to think of what it is going to cost Lara . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hookster 0 Posted June 25, 2009 Went Though This With The Ford Motor company Awhile Back There lawyers caught up with me selling on eBay. I had to sign a paper saying I would never make another Ford Decal. They wanted all the money I'd ever made selling ford decals plus everbodys address that I'd sold to plus all my inventory I had on hand. This all happened trying to make a buck on eBay. I let them know I had no inventory as I make decals as they sell & there decal had just been listed so none had been sold. I did lose my eBay account for a year plus lost my paypal account Ford droped my case & I'll never sell another ford decal again. Lots Of Luck Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tlzimmerman 11 Posted June 26, 2009 Went Though This With The Ford Motor company Awhile Back There lawyers caught up with me selling on eBay. I had to sign a paper saying I would never make another Ford Decal. They wanted all the money I'd ever made selling ford decals plus everbodys address that I'd sold to plus all my inventory I had on hand. This all happened trying to make a buck on eBay. I let them know I had no inventory as I make decals as they sell & there decal had just been listed so none had been sold. I did lose my eBay account for a year plus lost my paypal account Ford droped my case & I'll never sell another ford decal again. Lots Of Luck Mike No offense, but selling ford decals online in obvious violation of trademark law is alot different than what Lara is going through. It does serve as a reminder though, its the law and we should all abide by it or there is consequences. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laras4labs 4 Posted June 26, 2009 Great idea on the set price! I had to give him $250.00 just to get started. I better call him first thing in the am. I am willing to take a beating for my being wrong. I am NOT willing to sit back and take it in the a@@ for being misrepresented and lied to, which is why I am so upset. I can promise every single one of you, I won't even consider cutting a corporate logo without permission and I will NEVER print a detailed receipt again which is my kiss of death in this whole case because it makes it look like I sold the decal. And I will not ever buy in my entire life buy anything from black and decker. I am listing all of my dewalt junk on craigslist to get it out of my house. Switching to Kobalt and craftsman...../quote] This link will give you a little on what B&D owns. http://www.blackanddecker.com/CustomerCenter/Company-Information.aspx They own Porter cable and Dewalt. Porter Cable makes Craftsman power tools. Do not know about Kobalt. B&D also in with Hitachi Fingers in a lot of pies. Good luck. Dang, I have alot of work to do now to figure out what is in this house by Black and Decker. My toaster is history already. I sure am gonna miss my morning rasin bagel tomorrow. Thank heaven for Krispy Creme. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeCamaro 11 Posted June 26, 2009 How in the world do they choose who to sue or send C&D letters? There are 1,995 Ford decals on ebay. I have one. How in the world do they choose you and not the other 1,994 guys/gals? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hookster 0 Posted June 26, 2009 lol I GUESS I WAS THE LUCKY WINNER OF THE EBAY LOTTERY THAT DAY. And Yes THERE IS A DIFFERANCE FROM WHAT I DID & LORI & ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT WAS STUIPD OF ME. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN SELLING ON EBAY AS THEY DO HAVE PEOPLE WATCHING ALL THE TIME. MIKE Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted June 26, 2009 How in the world do they choose who to sue or send C&D letters? There are 1,995 Ford decals on ebay. I have one. How in the world do they choose you and not the other 1,994 guys/gals? IMHO..I think you only get caught when someone reports you. A competator,perhaps. I mean, a simple search turns up violations...why pick on just one person? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laras4labs 4 Posted June 26, 2009 Watch Amazon too. The more I read and the more research I do, the more I freak out. Now, I am sweating about the Taz t-shirt I made for my grandon. Geez. I swear, it's not like we make counterfeit money or anything. We are just trying to make a living. How many of you do only this and how many of you have other jobs? I'm just curious because some weeks I want to quit my other job and just do this but this week has been a drag. I am a medical transcriptionist and work at home and do the signs and lettering in the evenings and weekends Some weeks there aren't enough hours in the day and this week I have been twiddling my thumbs and actually this week has been the slowest I have ever been. Wouldn't that just figure just when I have to dump a load of money to get myself out of trouble. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob28x 0 Posted June 26, 2009 I try to be careful about what I cut, but I guess you can never be too careful. I guess I need to make a form for anyone to sign for doing race car sponsors, etc. I haven't thought twice about it in the past, but its all been local mom and pop stores for the sponsors, no one huge like black and decker. But still better safe then sorry I guess. Also cleaned up my ebay store, anything that remotely looked like they could harass me over I just removed. Oh well. The thing that kills me, is that its free advertisement for them. And for the couple companies I have asked about using their logos, they have always said no. No one has even said for "x" amount we will give you permission to use the logo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ls Creation Posted June 26, 2009 Now, I am sweating about the Taz t-shirt I made for my grandon. Geez. I swear, it's not like we make counterfeit money or anything. We are just trying to make a living. laras4labs, I wouldn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laras4labs 4 Posted June 26, 2009 Now, I am sweating about the Taz t-shirt I made for my grandon. Geez. I swear, it's not like we make counterfeit money or anything. We are just trying to make a living. laras4labs, I wouldn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cpwall 0 Posted July 2, 2009 got any updates for us yet? I wanna see how things are going Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laras4labs 4 Posted July 2, 2009 Not any yet except they want to settle and my lawyer thinks that the whole thing is nonsense. He has a conference call scheduled with them sometime this morning, but he does believe that this is foolish and that they really don't have a leg to stand on and they didn't provide me with a warning, which according to his research, they have to issue a warning before they can legally sue a person, but they are in Indiana and we are in Missouri, so he is researching their laws and will speak with them today. By the way, after taking advise from all of you and my family, he and I settled for a set fee of $1000.00 whether this goes to court or not, so he really would like to keep it simple, obviously. I can't decide if I should countersue for entrapment or not. Not sure if I have the "fight" in me or not. More updates to come.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rodger 527 Posted July 2, 2009 Hi Lara , I hope things go good . My advice for countersuit etc is to let it go . The person who had contact with you would wind up being a " sub-contractor " who most likely is fairly judgment immune . It would be hard for you to prove IMO & not worth what it would cost . Bad betting odds is basically what I am saying ... expenditure vs " possible " gain . It is a shame you have to spend $1K on this , but better than an hourly rate I'm sure . I am not clear about if you have actually gotten served with a civil suit filed in the court system Where was the civil suit files ( if it was ) I think the civil suit has to be filed where the event happened Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latitude42 5 Posted July 3, 2009 "P.O. Box 40009 Indianapolis, N 46240 Phone: (317) 818-0523" This sounds/looks like a backroom company that makes money on odds... send thousands of letters and see how many checks come back in the mail... they do not even post a real address, cannot spell the "Indiana" abrev., probably just a couple of lackys working out of the spare room and raking in $$$$ on peoples fears. I have not seen anything about if you actually contacted B&D/Dewalt about this?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kctrader 10 Posted July 4, 2009 This sounds/looks like a backroom company that makes money on odds... send thousands of letters and see how many checks come back in the mail... If you looked st Tabberone's web site, she shows photos of the empty building they were claiming as their "World Headquarters" for a while. But it does look like they will file a suit in court. They went after gunbrokers dot com in an Indiana court and gunbrokers got it moved to Federal Court since it was trademark / copyright related. Hope gunbrokers decides to fight it all the way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimB 0 Posted July 6, 2009 How in the world do they choose who to sue or send C&D letters? There are 1,995 Ford decals on ebay. I have one. How in the world do they choose you and not the other 1,994 guys/gals? IMHO..I think you only get caught when someone reports you. A competator,perhaps. I mean, a simple search turns up violations...why pick on just one person? Who's to say they haven't sent C&D letters to everyone? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rodger 527 Posted July 7, 2009 or more shocking/appalling .. maybe in court show proof ( does not have to the truth ) they mailed C & D 's to everyone Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
