Stradivarius Torrent Annihilator!!!

Jul 06, 2005 14:13

It's tough acknowledging that not everyone is on the same page. Some people haven't even opened the book.
Good ole Slashdot has brought me news of a guy named Leo Stoller that has trademarked, among other words, "stealth", "renaissance", "ambush", and "fable". To those that understand trademark law, you'd immediately know that this is no big deal. As long as you don't try to sell products in the same markets with these trademarks, you'd have no conflict. However, this idiot obviously doesn't understand.
First, take a good look at his site. Aren't the custom logos for these trademarks simply...yeah, I can't find the word for it. To save you the trouble of actually reading those eye-rending images, here's a list of the "trademarks" the guy is claiming:
  • stealth
  • sentra
  • aquilla
  • annihilator
  • ambush
  • fable
  • triana
  • renaissance
  • stradivarius
  • intruder
  • checkmate
  • night stalker
  • eliminator
  • turbo jet
  • airframe
  • tree house
  • phalanx
  • torrent
  • tirade
  • aerospace
  • starlight
  • liquid cool
  • terminator

Second, consider that this guy is a total idiot and considers anything bearing any of his "trademarks" to be infringement. So...that would put good ole Terminator 1-3 on the chopping block. Don't build any tree houses either. All Ren-fests might be in danger.
Notice the first entry "stealth"...good ole Leo decided to go after Northrop Grumman, the main contractor on the B-2 Stealth Bomber. Apparently, "stealth" is his favorite one to enforce. He's never successfully sued anyone for using it, but he has settled out of court in some cases. He's sent cease & desist letters to (and actually gotten response from) Kmart, JVC, Panasonic, and Columbia Pictures. Most of these have simply removed the word from their products, since it's cheaper than paying for court.
If anyone ever needed a swift kick to the balls, it would be Leo Stoller. Maybe I'll trademark "Leo Stoller". Yeah, let's see him try to sign a legal document without licensing his name from me.

rants, entries, geeky

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