Trademark Infringement

[GaijinPunch]

Someone complaiend to my provider that I had material which infringed on a registered trademark. It was not any of the thousands of scans, but actually something related to "Cycle Trader". The URL they gave my provider was very obscure, and I have no idea where it originated from. I certainly don't remember putting it there.

So at any rate, they contacted me, and instead of letting me rectify the issue, they "redirected" the site which, is fancy talk for shut it the fuck down. I've got a claim in w/ the provider but despite having 24 hour service, that department apparently only works during the US working hours.

I know there's usually a C&D order for most stuff, but does this strike anyone as odd on the partof my provider to simply shut the thing down with no warning? The complaint side submitted pdf file of their trademark basically, and I'm assuming my provider thought it was good enough so fucked me.

Too bad moving providers is so much fucking work.

[Specineff]

Is this related to your website? (I couldn't tell from your post)

[adversity1]

Is this related to your website? (I couldn't tell from your post)

Ey yo fuck your provider though. Ridiculous shit man.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Trademark infringement is when you're like using someone's brand name, right? It is kind of weird that they pulled the plug on you for just using someone's logo or something. I mean, normal people do a lot worse when it comes to trademark and copyright infringements.

[brentsg]

Guilty until proven innocent, but the innocent part can wait until 9-5 apparently. That's bullshit..

[GaijinPunch]

brentsg hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, my "WTF?!" email from my iFone went through, but the one after doing a little research didn't make it in time (after 8AM my time). I've got plans tonight and tomorrow, so not sure when I can tackle this. I should move on principle alone.

Is this related to your website? (I couldn't tell from your post)

to my provider

[gundamalpha]

That really sucks.. I've been trying to log in to your site since morning

[sven666]

Is this related to your website? (I couldn't tell from your post)

no, its about his dealer...

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

It's about his dairy provider . No milk for you, Sir!

[GaijinPunch]

I tried to convey the point that they're costing me money by keeping me down, but no reply yet. I really should've set up a failsafe on my machine at home and opened port 80. It's not the safest thing but it would save me lost dough.

I have all the data... but it would all have to be put together.

[gundamalpha]

Are you totally stranded now? I have shipping request which is ready to be paid as soon as the quote is ready

Hope everything goes well for you soon

[Udderdude]

The "Shoot first and ask questions later" method of checking for copyright infringement is just ripe for abuse.

[Specineff]

Sorry. It was late and I had had a terrible day.

[GaijinPunch]

Hnds tied at the moment. Just gotta be patient.

[Skykid]

Shit man, that really sucks. I can't for the life of me think what trademark you actually infringed though, unless you were profiting directly from the use of someone's logo or image. Gamengai doesn't profit from any of the information on the site, only physical goods, so I really don't get it.

Was the Gamengai logo adapted from an existing logo, or is it completely original (more to the point, do you know the specific part of the site the infringement was directed at?)

Anyway, sounds really crap. Give that provider two fingers and go somewhere else.

[GaijinPunch]

Cycle Trader is the trademark I infringed on. The file in question was either placed their maliciously, or by me accidnentally. The file was root/blah.traderonline.com/login something rather.

[neorichieb1971]

Sounds like a set up to me. You don't know how it got there, but someone else knew it was there and put the motions into action before you could blink.

Sounds fishy to me.

[EPS21]

From googling cycle trader, it seems their website does just that... a place to buy and sell motorcycles. Even if you had somehow deliberately infringed on their copyright on some random logo placed on your site, how does that even harm their business at all? Unless you happen to export some Yamaha YZF-R1's as well as games

IP laws seem retarded beyond any rational thought it seems.

[brentsg]

Somehow I don't think this has much to do with law, more to do with stupidity.

[sven666]

Unless you happen to export some Yamaha YZF-R1's as well as games

hey, its not that far fetched

[incognoscente]

This is a provision of the DMCA. If the provider removes the infringing files once they're pointed out, they can avoid a lawsuit for monetary damages. GP's provider is simply covering their ass. Youtube does the same thing.

Specifically, from section 512(c): Information Residing on Systems or Networks at Direction of Users :

A service provider shall not be liable for monetary relief, or, except as provided in subsection (j), for injunctive or other equitable relief, for infringement of copyright by reason of the storage at the direction of a user of material that resides on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the service provider, if the service provider -

(A)(i) does not have actual knowledge that the material or an activity using the material on the system or network is infringing;

(ii) in the absence of such actual knowledge, is not aware of facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent; or

(iii) upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material;


Also, guys, you looked at the wrong cycle trader. We should be talking about four-dimensional stock markets!

[Elixir]

How did they even find it?

[neorichieb1971]

How did they even find it?

My point exactly. In the billions of terrabytes of internet they just happened to find you.

[Ed Oscuro]

I'm sure they were out looking for misuses of the trademark. Some bits on the motorcycle trading service I found:

"NORFOLK, Va., Dec. 21, 2009 – Cycle Trader, the industry leader in motorcycle classifieds and a division of Dominion Enterprises, has made searching for new and used motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercraft, and snowmobiles a whole lot easier. Powersports enthusiasts can now shop CycleTrader.com’s inventory of more than 140,000 vehicles from their iPhone by using the Cycle Trader iPhone application."

And from a PDF:

Cycle Trader Puts Ad Conversions in the Fast Lane
The leading motorcycle classified ad directory accelerates ad performance
with eStara Call Tracking from ATG.

THE SOLUTION:
Cycle Trader found the open road with eStara Call Tracking from ATG. The Call Tracking
service enables Cycle Trader and its advertisers to follow prospective buyer interactions
across different channels, understand buyers’ shopping paths, and track advertisers’
responses to inbound phone inquiries.
THE RESULT:
With Call Tracking, Cycle Trader was able to give its advertisers new insights into prospect
activity and better demonstrate the ROI of their ad listings. The company was also able
to advise dealers in more effectively converting prospective buyers in both online and
print campaigns. Further, Cycle Trader now enables dealers to track and improve the
performance of their advertising investments on their own.

What seems odd to me is that in none of these places do I see the required trademark symbol next to their wording.

I don't assume they intended to shut GP down, certainly not permanently. They wouldn't know initially whether they were going up against somebody self-hosted and in any case all that needed to be done was to remove the offending wording to get them off the porch.

Anyway, sounds pretty lousy. I know a trademark attorney, unfortunately this is pretty common silliness. It's infuriating but ultimately not worth the trouble it would take to sort things out properly even if they are in the wrong.

It might help to put up a contact and specifically say something like this:
http://www.e-cycletrader.com/__media__/ ... trader.com
Then again, it might be ignored. They went to your ISP because they know they're certain to pull it off quickly. Your loss of uptime is no concern to them. If you had a big company and enough money to shout about you'd probably have a better hosting service that would talk to you first, else grounds for lawsuit (but again I doubt we're talking enough money to make a difference else you'd be talking to your lawyer). Tough break, but whatcha gonna do?

FWIW these assholes have lost some prospective customers. I won't be buying any cycles advertised through this service, as unlikely as that may be.

[Udderdude]

Also, guys, you looked at the wrong cycle trader. We should be talking about four-dimensional stock markets!

Holy shit, that is amazing. Grade A crazy.

[emphatic]

Somehow I don't think this has much to do with law, more to do with corporate greed.

^^fixed?

[Skykid]

After reading up on the details I'm more confused about this than ever.

A trademark is for the protection of a brand. The only way you could be potentially violating the rules of a trademark is if you're offering services under the pretense of their name, or using their logo to identify your own business or services - none of which seems to be the case.
You said they had a URL. What did it point to on your site exactly?

I'd be pretty interested to hear what you find out on this.

[ncp]

Also, guys, you looked at the wrong cycle trader. We should be talking about four-dimensional stock markets!

[brentsg]

No GP post in quite a few hours. I think it's safe to say his head exploded in frustration.

RIP man..

[Specineff]

Maybe they were squatting on a trademark/patent, and decided to strike now, knowing fully the file was in the code that GP and other users were being handed.