
Radio Shack's abuse of Intellectual Property Laws, by Dr. Who, 6/4/96
     http://www.l0pht.com/radiophone/radio_shack/censor.txt

This document is copyright 1996 by Dr. Who. It may be redistributed
freely, as long as no charge is made for the redistribution. fnord. Any
person or organization wishing to redistribute for charge should email
drwho@l0pht.com

In case you aren't reading this in context, this is an article regarding
freedom of speech vs. intellectual property rights on the Internet. I run
a web page that contains, among other information, instructions of
programming of cellular phones. This information is arranged by
manufacturer, and at the top of each page I usually have a link to the
manufacturer's web page. you can look at this web page directly at
http://www.l0pht.com/radiophone/jwz/radio_shack/tandy.html or you can
view the root page at http://www.l0pht.com/radiophone

This is a collection of email sent between myself, Radio Shack, and the EFF.
I do not guarantee that the mail did not get somehow corrupted or "changed"
between the time it was sent and when you read it here. (i.e. don`t try to
get me for slander or libel). My comments after this section are set off
in square brackets ( [ and ] ). --Dr. Who (drwho@l0pht.com)

Date: Sat, 18 May 1996 15:24:54 -0400 (EDT)
From: Doctor Who <drwho@l0pht.com>
To: JMCGOW1@tandy.com
Subject: Re: (no subject) (fwd)



On Sat, 18 May 1996, Sys Admin wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Sat, 08 Apr 95 16:21:16 -0700
> From: JMCGOW1@tandy.com
> To: admin@l0pht.com
> Subject: (no subject)
>
> I would like to contac "drwho" who uses your server.  Please forward this
> message.  The matter concerns his use of our trademark and copyrighted
> logo.  My number is 817-390-2948.  If he does not want to pay for the
> long distance call he can send me an E-mail with his name and number and
> I will call at his convenience.    Thank you.

It was never my intention to claim to be a representative of tandy corp.
or make any claims on their name. I will stick a disclaimer "Radio Shack
and Tandy are trademarks of Tandy corp., Radiophone does not represent
them in any way". Will that satisfy you?

Sincerely,
Doctor Who

[ I thought this would work; "A spell to keep away lawyers". I thought it
was very reasonable ]




Date: Tue, 21 May 96 16:37:00 CDT
From: John McGowan <JMCGOW1@tandy.com>
To: Doctor Who <drwho@l0pht.com>
Subject: Re: (no subject) (fwd)


Please call me at 817-390-2948.  We should discuss copyright and
trademark law.  Iam sure we can work out an agreement.
 ----------




Date: Wednesday, May 22, 1996 5:03PM
From: Doctor Who
To: John McGowan
Subject: Re: (no subject) (fwd)

On Tue, 21 May 1996, John McGowan wrote:

>
> Please call me at 817-390-2948.  We should discuss copyright and trademark
> law.  Iam sure we can work out an agreement.
>  ----------
> From: Doctor Who
> To: JMCGOW1
> Subject: Re: (no subject) (fwd)
> Date: Saturday, May 18, 1996 3:24PM

I prefer to work this out using email, as it is far more convenient for
me, as I usually sleep during the day and work at night, among other
reasons.

[ Well, also I am not going to call him from work, you know? ]

Please explain to me exactly what you feel is an issue that we must work out
You should be aware of the disclaimer at the bottom of my opening page
(www.l0pht.com/radiophone) and the changes made to the page discussing
NAM programming of Radio Shack brand phones, in which I note the
ownership of the Radio Shack brand by Tandy, and describe no relationship
between RadioPhone and Radio Shack.

Based on current world-wide web practices and established publishing
practices, as well as copyright and trade law, this is sufficient to
safeguard the rights of Tandy Corp.

Enjoy the web and the net,
 --Dr. Who

[ I mentioned this again, in case he hasn't looked at the changes I made. I
 hope he knows how to use the RELOAD button ]





Subject: Re: (no subject) (fwd)
From: John McGowan <JMCGOW1@tandy.com>
To: Doctor Who <drwho@l0pht.com>
Date: Wed, 22 May 96 17:48:00 CDT


Under federal and state law you may use or trademark "Radio Shack" to
discuss or products.  You have incorporated our entire logo (the circle R
with RADIOSHACK).  If you wish to refer to our company we would prefer that
the page read Radio Shack without the design.  Also, you improperly use our
trademarked slogan "You've got questions,  we've got answers."  Regardless
of your opinion on Radio Shack's products this is an infringement of the
slogan and under the new Federal Anti-dilution Statute there is no need of
actual or likely confusion in the consuming public.  Please remove the
offending slogan and alter the page header.  I believe our demands are
reasonable and certainly within our rights.  I will be glad to further
explain trademark law to you over the phone, if you care to arise a
little early or retire a little bit later.  If not, I will forward my
recommendations to my client.  I am sure you are aware that the access
provider will have to divulge your identity if required to under subpoena
as there is no hacker/server privilege yet under U.S. law.  I do not wish to
censor your rights to express an opinion, only the improper use of our
trademarks.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation.  John McGowan
 ----------


[ OUTRAGEOUS! the logo he's referring to is a link to their own page,
 with the image source their own server! I do not actually store a copy
 of their logo for retrieval, they do! My guess is that he doesn't know
 enough about the web, or the net, to see these things. I bet most judges
 and  prosecutors don't either, and that worries me.]

[ What's still worse is something that doesn't take any technical knowledge
  to comprehend. My page says "You've got questions? We've got shrugs!".
  This refers to the lack of accuracy and knowledge that I find in most
  Radio Shack salespeople.I do not use their slogan, I parody it. Parody
  is a form of free speech protected by the first amendment. This is obvious
  coercion, an attempt to silence a critic by abusing intellectual property
  laws. ]

[ Not that this should have any bearing on my freedom of expression, but
  I don't think that all of Radio Shack's products are crap, I rather like
  their scanners and CB radios. Many other things are not up to par, and
  their customer service sucks.]

[ Another thing: he assumes that my service provider knows who I am (well,
  I am who), and further assumes that both the service provider and
  myself are under U.S. jurisdiction. That's a pretty big assumption to
  make.]

[ At this point, I hear a voice saying "It sounds like a job for THE EFF!"
  in a comic-book voice, as I imagine a super-hero coming the rescue me
  from villainous corporate lawyers. So I drop them some mail.... ]

[ First I wrote to Mike Godwin directly, and got a one-line "sorry I can't
  help you, given the information you have sent me" note. Sorry I can't
  locate that piece of mail, if I find it I'll put it up here. I later
  find the address ask@eff.org, which looks like (from the web page
  description) a more appropriate place to send mail. maybe I got the
  blow-off from mike because I didn't follow official channels. oh well,
  try official channels I will! ]




Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 10:37:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dennis Derryberry <dennis@eff.org>
To: Doctor Who <drwho@l0pht.com>
Subject: Re: My web page is being threatened by Tandy


Hi.

I thought I bounced your first message to our Staff Counsels. Maybe I didn't.
They are: Shari Steele <ssteele@eff.org>
and Mike Godwin <mnemonic@eff.org>

[ First message: I sent a message and didn't get a response after a day,
  so I sent a second one, with a little editing ]


You might want to ask them about copyright issues with your userid (Doctor Who)
, as well.

Dennis
EFF


On Fri, 24 May 1996, Doctor Who wrote:

>
> I have a web site with info pertaining to cellular phones.
> (http://www.l0pht.com/radiophone). Among those are phones sold by
> radio shack. I have recently been receiving email from someone at radio
> shack (presumably a lawyer) with demands regarding the content of my web
> page. I believe they are attempting to bend trademark law in order to silence
> criticism (my web page parodies their slogan as a critique of their
> customer service).
> I am confident that I would triumph in court when Tandy's motives for
> this baseless attack, and the hollowness of their claims, were fully
> explained.  Ii can not afford an expensive legal battle for this though.
> I fear the legal power of a large corporation and the ignorance of many
> prosecutors, judges, grand juries, etc. about the Internet.
>
> My plea is for some advice and contact info regarding this. If you are
> interested, I will forward you the correspondence between myself and this
> person at radio shack.
>
> In the event you are unable to help, please at least respond and let me
> know that you received this e-mail.
>
> Regards,
>  Doctor Who
>
> drwho@l0pht.com
>
>
>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dennis Derryberry * Executive Administrator * Electronic Frontier Foundation
  * Phone: +1 415 436 9333 * Fax: +1 415 436 9993 * Email: dennis@eff.org *



[ I sent him a response - another thing I can't find, yet ]




Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 11:08:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dennis Derryberry <dennis@eff.org>
To: Doctor Who <drwho@l0pht.com>
Subject: Re: My web page is being threatened by Tandy

On Fri, 24 May 1996, Doctor Who wrote:

>
>
> On Fri, 24 May 1996, Dennis Derryberry wrote:
>
> > I thought I bounced your first message to our Staff Counsels. Maybe I didn'
t
> > They are: Shari Steele <ssteele@eff.org>
> > and Mike Godwin <mnemonic@eff.org>
>
> Ok great. I had mailed directly to mike before I sent to you, which I
> shouldn't have done because it wasn't using proper channels, and got a
> one line dismissal. Maybe shari will have a little more to say.

I'm curious: what was mike's one-line dismissal?


>
> > You might want to ask them about copyright issues with your userid
> > (Doctor Who), as well.
>
> You know, I hadn't thought about that. I have been using it as a
"handle"
> since the days when the internet was called arpanet and no-one cared
what
> you called yourself, as long as it wasn't "root". I haven't received
> anything nasty from the BBC, so I guess I'll just have to keep my
fingers
> crossed.
>

Yes, the good old days. There are bills in Georgia (now signed into law)
and in California (pending) which make it illegal to represent youself
online using  someone else's registered trademark.  Check out
http://www.eff.org/pub/EFF/Newsletters/EFFector/effect09.04
for more info.


> In any case, thanks for the reply.
>
>
> --Dr. Who
>
> (I could change my last name to who, and finally get my PhD...)

I'd bet someone's already done even this, but it would still be fun,
probably. At least for now people can't copyright their own regular
world names. What would all the John Smiths do?


>
>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dennis Derryberry * Executive Administrator * Electronic Frontier Foundation
  * Phone: +1 415 436 9333 * Fax: +1 415 436 9993 * Email: dennis@eff.org *
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



[ Well, I waited. For a note from Dennis, Shari, Mike, or even McGowan at
  Radio Shack. I have received nothing. The super-hero seems busy elsewhere.
  I am not going to wait until my ISP gets subpoenaed, I removed the link to
  Radio Shack`s page. I am leaving my parody in, though, and putting a link
  to all the correspondence. I though that I wouldn't have to show Radio
  Shack`s dirty laundry to the web-viewing public, but I feel it is the only
  pre-emptive thing I can do, in case my web site (and probably the
  l0pht) were to disappear without a trace. ]

[ I would like to see this brought to the forefront of discussions about
  freedom of speech on the internet, it`s not all just the CDA you know!
  And I'd like to get some reassurance from civil libertarians that they are
  supportive of me, and will give me legal aid should any troubles with the
  law, civil or criminal, arise]

Ewige Blumenkraft,

  Dr. Who   (drwho@l0pht.com)
   $LOD$


