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F*cked Company Cease-And-Desisted
cecil36 writes "Visitors to F*cked Company (FC) were greeted with a cease and desist letter from
Idealab!.
Apparently, Idealab! is suing FC over the use of the logos of the companies that they own. FC is countering with fair use, stating that these companies have a bad financial record, and FC is making humor out of their situation."
Whatever. Wake me when this one is over. Oh, and a caution to sensitive readers: click any nearby links and you will be forced to read the
most foul
of the
foul words
(you can't tell what I'm talking about, can you?, because I have cleverly inserted an asterisk to disguise the actual word).
oh, man
Hi Everyone --i gotta leak this email from our [Opensales.org] CEO
Some of you may have seen the recent front page of the F***ed Company humor site that mocks the idealab! front page, which includes a small graphic of an old OpenSales logo. The F***ed Company Web site people apparently didn't take the time to remove our logo--even though we're a software company that provides commerce solutions for a variety of businesses and not a dot-com with a business model no one understands. I'm as much of a fan of parody and humor as much as the next person and I also believe in free speech. I just like my satire to be accurate.
Best,
Bonnie
How fucking stupid do you have to be to confuse "fastcompany" with "FUCKEDcompany"? Anyone who confuses the two needs to be shot in the head. Morons.
- A.P.
--
* CmdrTaco is an idiot.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Today, IdeaLab! sent out a C&D letter an un-named parody website who's commentary apparently hit too close to the truth for IdeaLab!'s comfort. Severity: 30
Ooooh, you're in trouble now... you reverse-engineered jamie's incredibly powerful encryption scheme, obviously so that you can illegally copy /. headlines. I smell a DMCA lawsuit...
Teach your kids: "C++ made baby Jesus cry."
...that would be "felch".
--
Peter
I wonder whether idealab will sue Bainlab for the same reason? (hmmm, think I missed them off the lameness list... "a mistake I don't mean to dooplicate" - check Bainlab in mozilla... heh, they really 'get' this "web thing", ay!
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
The ironic thing is that F*cked Company IS in violation of various trademarks whose owners would have a legitimate right to complain, such as GoTo.com and eToys. THEIR logos remain intact and unparodied in the spoof page.
Well, actually those logos/trademarks have been "modified" by having other logos placed in front of them, overlapping and clipping their edges, etc.
However, since taken as a whole, together, it is obvious that no single company, logo, or trademark is being represented as "fuckedcompany.com" or even "fuckedideas.com" or whoever the complaining jerks are who are being paradied, and the use is noncommercial to boot, the law is clearly in favor of the defendents. Should the antagonists then try to employ copyright law, fair use will become relevant, and blow them right out of the water.
Idealab! are indeed jumorless jerks -- soon to be penniless jerks as well as their dotcom dreams go the way of so many others: into the toilet.
The implosion will be lent additional humor in context of their current, aggressively hypocritical behavior. I shall enjoy watching it immensly, chortling "Bzzt! Thank you for playing!" when it is all over.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
I don't think that anyone can state anything about anyone or anything as "fact". You can say "it is my belief that: such and such". Or "it is in our opinion that: such and such". When criticizing people and products, you have to be extremely careful. Just as you have to be careful when naming products: You can name a drink "Slim Fast" but you can't name it "Dietary Drink" and then write under it "Slims you fast"... It's all about representations... I'm not a lawyer, though, but i did spend some time in advertising.
Do! they! realize! just! how! stupid! ending! your! company!'s name! with! a!
exclamation! point! looks! when! you! have! to! reference! your! company! in! print!?
...Almost as dumb as putting colons in product names...
--K
Mod down as Flamebait or Troll.
---
Was anyone else dissapointed to click through the C&D to find the 1dea7ab (no infringment there!) wasn't the fuck of the day
The whole fsck=fuck joke has never been very funny.
Not even the first time.
People can be assholes whether they speak their minds or not, and I prefer it when assholes advertize the fact to the world John Rocker-style instead of hiding their asshole actions behind bullshit rationalizations. It makes them that much easier to ignore.
Be careful - you can say two things:
a)Firestone sucks/is fucked.
No problem there, thats your opinion.
b)Firestone makes dangerous tires.
Be careful - better be able to back up your comment, otherwise that's libelous/slanderous (I'm not saying that it isn't *true*, but the second case u better be ready to PROVE it, and have a lawyer handy. Certain types of disparaging remarks will land u in court - and for good reason. Freedom of speech doesn't mean that u don't have to answer for your words).
IANAL
j
Right if the graphic in question is a parody, it is protected speech.
If the graphic in question is satire, it is not protected speech.
And of course, this is only within the context of intellectual property claims. Both satire and parody are protected in the context of whether or not the government is allowed to censor the speech in question.
Now, we part ways, the one case I can remember (regarding the satire of the O.J. Simpson trial told in the manner of Dr. Seuss) seemed to rule the other way. Then again, this was a jury trial so it might just have been an issue of bad taste that the jurors found more compelling than legal arguments.
have a day,
-l
As always, IANAL, but I believe the following to be correct. Please consult legal counsel before interpreting my opinion as the correct interpretation of law in your locality.
Within the context of using other people's copyrighted intellectual property, satire is not a protected form of speech in the US. Parody, on the other hand, is.
What's the difference? According to Webster:
satire. n. a literary work in which vices, follies, etc. are held up to ridicule and contempt.
parody. n. a farcical imitation of a literary or musical work or style.
OTOH, both parody and satire are protected forms of speech in the context that the the government cannot censor them without trodding on the bill or rights.
So there are two seperate issues here.
I think 'cunt' is only the most offensive among the female population. I'm guessing because to many of them became proud of the other derogatory term 'bitch'. Those who could be defined as 'cunt's have no sense of humor either. Like that time I sent the ticking clock to the abortion clinic; they just didn't get the humor in it. Ah well. *thats a joke, laugh!*
There are for most segments of the population a word which is the most offensive for that group. 'cunt' being for females, whereas blacks are none to fond of hearing the word 'nigger' out of the mouth of a white person. I haven't figured out the word that most offends white males to a degree that they 'gasp' in a state of shock like those other words cause. *shrug*
-- Greg
Slashdot, would a spell-checker for posting be too much to ask? It's not rocket science!
Maybe they should've taken out the "idealab capital partners" label there.
"If you look 'round the table and can't tell who the sucker is, it's you." -- Quiz Show
I prefer to use flock() myself...
Also, a C&D letter doesn't absolutely confirm that the sender is a bunghole, but it's at least a heads up that they might be.
--
This has nothing to do with censorship.
The use of * instead of 'u' in the title of this article is, I presume, a courtesy to those who do not enjoy profanity on their homepages when they log into the Internet at work, etc.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
My friend just found out that he was listed in the cease and desist by creating a personal perl script that parses that site and replaces those particular 'u' characters with '*'. Supposedly he only set it up for the three of us but its in the letter...interesting.
http://www.zuhause.org/cgi-bin/fcproxy.pl
Has anyone else ever used this link to view the site?
-Vel
Sh*t, I never knew the *nix was a dirty word all this time.
Can your IM do this?
"Your freedom to swing your arm ends where my nose begins."
--John Stuart Mill
The fact is that even commercial ventures may assume an identity. Trademark law is one such effort to give the machine that is a corporation a name. Likewise, these corporations must defend their names much in the same way you or I might have to do with our names.
Because I am still researching, I have only a simple understanding of this topic, but... here goes a try.. it most certainly won't be a hole-in-one!
We are given the freedom of speech in the form of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, one of ten which make up the Bill of Rights. Throughout its existence, the wording of the First Amendment has not been modified; the meaning, however, has--based on numerous interpretations. Our Supreme Court has heard many cases involving Free Speech issues, each introducing new complexities, eaching requiring and interpretation of the Constitution so that it may be applied to the said case.
Ok, this is where i decided that I would be lazy and give up on typing this out (anybody wanna finish?).. I leave you with the following:
-Andrew Dvorak: Slashdot Critic
I can't believe they put Pixelon in there!! They are ruining Pixelon's good name-- I'll have to sue.
Note to the Clue-Impaired: Pixelon was the company which turned out to be run by a con man, who spent 20 million in VC before people caught on that his 'revolutionary streaming video technology is actually windows media player. Let's see if they send a C&D.
I'm just racking up the FC points by betting on FC! Severity: 50, Points: 125!
So I guess they are getting them on utilize (what service do f*ckedcompany offer...humour)? Is this really US Law? Is it the simple case that any use of any copyright image is illegal and subject to cease and desist? Can the companies who have topics on /. place the same cease and desists?
It seems like f*ckedcompany.com is down at the moment so I can't get in to look at what they had but I really would have thought the words "Fair Use" and "Free Speach" would cover this quite easily. If not I guess F*ckedcompany is a F*ckedcompany themselves.
Never underestimate the dark side of the Source
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Of course, the question now becomes, how would you get from Fast Company to F*cked Company while looking at the first site. It is obvious how someone could get to the Bush satire site. But it seems like you would have to make too many typos to mistake F*cked Company for Fast Company. Similarity of graphics aside.
- - - - - - - -
"Never apply a Star Trek solution to a Babylon 5 problem."
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
ok... looks like i was wrong....
I found this link to this image.. I have no idea where it was located on the fuckedcompany web site..
http://www.vfxweb.com/fuckedlab.gif
its a parody though... so idealab is sol....
From the idealab! letter:
In addition, your infringing use also dilutes the distinctiveness of the idealab! web site and numerous logo designs by trading upon the goodwill and reputation that the public associates with these designs.
Looking at it from the perspective of idealab! its actually a viable concern that their own public image will suffer as a result of f*ckedcompany using a modification of their logo.
If you were an investor, would you really want to put in your hard earned money to a place who (if you've seen the f*cked company website) almost declares its own upsoming downfall?
I think in the spirit of simple mockery (i.e., mentioning idealab! in one of its lists of the doomed) using the name and maybe even the correct logo is ok, as long as it stays associated with the correct company and is not modified... but using the logo as they do f*ckedcompany is guilty of being a collective jerk.
You're missing the point.
That's much more than a law. It's the First Amendment to the Constitution. It is the basis upon which our society is built. The instant we begin to pick and choose what speech is covered, we begin to erode the foundation of this nation.
It scares me to think how often this argument has to be made. OTOH, 'Freedom of Speech' means being able to say 'We should limit freedom of speech.'
Browser? I barely know her!
This topic has been covered so many times that this entire thread should be modded down as redundant.
Browser? I barely know her!
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Browser? I barely know her!
Axel
Axel
mhm23x3, alt.fan.karl-malden.nose
Fair use is extremely powerful, but it must be used with caution, because those who claim it must be able to justify that their use is not infringing on the market of those whose material they use. There are several tests for "fair use" which include whether the user is making money, whether they are taking marketspace, and so forth. This present situation is dangerous, as are all copyright violations, because freedom of speech is at the core, but money is intertwingled, which makes the law ACTUALLY QUITE SIMPLE, but lawyers get creative with it nevertheless. Supreme Court won't even look at a case like this until ten or fifteen similar ones have been proposed to them, since the the current body of law is pretty full on the issue. Disclaimer about law: One "good" lawyer can stop the bullshit of a thousand typical lawyers. It's just that there's only one per ten thousand who currently qualify.
information is immaterial
Say for instance you go to a weight watchers meeting (mostly women I have noticed) and asked the participants if Fuck is the most foul of foul words. Most will probably say yes, until you also mention the word Cunt. It has been my experience that Cunt is the foulest word of all (at least here in the US)
Any one else agree with me that Cunt should be labeled as the most foul of foul words?
How many men does it take to open a beer??
None.
In my experience, the c-word is indeed the only word in the English language virtually guaranteed to offend everyone present. I've yet to bring the word up in conversation and not have everybody offended. In high school, I used to get a game going by saying I could offend every woman present with just two words. The first, douche-bag, would offend about 95% of those present. The smug looking remaining five percent would almost inevitably gasp in unision when I uttered the dreaded c-word.
I've often wondered what makes it so profane.
A far as the f word goes, its decline as a 'shocker' is perhaps due to the current prevalence of its presence in media of all types. Once you hear a word 10,000 times while sitting through a single action movie, it just doesn't have quite the same impact as it used to.
Hopefully movie-makers won't catch on anytime soon and some words will continue to offend....
regards,
-l
Freedom of speech absolutely gives him the right to be an asshole.
It gives him the right to express himself even if nobody wants to listen.
It does not require him to say anything relevant, meaningful, or even truthful.
That being said, Slashdot certainly has the right to ban any user for any reason, even feeding trolls.
Browser? I barely know her!
IANAL, but my second cousin plays one on TV.
--
IdeaLab! is not suing just yet, but it is going through the procedure to get their name removed from the page. This includes a formal warning that FuckedCompany.com is potentially liable for infringements on certain aspects of IdeaLab's IP.
The formal filing of a complaint does not take place until later, if FuckedCompany.com (or the guy who runs it, Pud) does not comply with a written letter and IdeaLab decides the case is worth fighting in courts.
If IdeaLab is going under and trying to gain additional funding, however, they would not want to further the humiliation by formally suing about having their company posted, causing more publicity to the fact that they are, well, fucked.
The other thing to consider is their ability to sue - if much of IdeaLab's venture capital is contained in their fixed assets (e.g., computer stuff) and maintaining their employee overhead, then they will not have the ability to do more than send off threatening letters. A threatening letter costs ~$200 from an attorney; a lawsuit costs much, much more... and not only in terms of money.
Lucas
--
Spindletop Blackbird, the GNU/Linux Cube.
Unfortunately, IANAL, but as far as I know there IS NO exception for "fair use" built into TRADEMARK law. Which is what this is. So f*ckedcompany should create a parody of the logo, and use that. This IS protected by fair use.
-- Michael Chermside
I am t*red of my r*ghts being trampled. Seems all oru p*liticians are trying to c*nsor the web. I can't say "f*cked". Wh*t's n*xt? Soon any w*rds, th*ughts, expr*ss*ons are g*ing to b* c**sored because my *deas don't happen to agree with people like J** Lib**mann and T*pper G*re. I'm going to do the only thing I can in a d*m*cracy. I'm v*ting for the candidate ***** *. *****. I hope that by joining the *********** party, I will be doing something to preserve **** speach. Thank ***.
This is the URL for the parody FuckedCompany.Com did:
FuckedLab.gifIt's a parody, which is protected by US Constitution (and it's a right that has been defended successfully in the Supreme Court). For the parody to REALLY be funny, look at Idea Lab's site Pretty much a perfect parody, design wise! Best part - eToys is in the dead center of the pile, on both IdeaLabs and FuckedCompany's version!
Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr - looking for something to read? Check out my three free novels at MidnightRyder.org
1) Do you think this sort of action:
a) Evokes a favorable disposition towards your company in the eyes of people who`ve never heard of it before?
b) Makes you look like a clueless bunch of tossers?
2) As a result of this action, do you think your company will perform:
a) Better than before?
b) Worse than before?
c) Wont make any difference, but will make you look like a clueless bunch of tossers?
3) Do you understand the concept of satire, and recognize that it is specifically protected, even under current U.S. law?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Dont know, we`re just a clueless bunch of tossers.