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FedEx Cracks Down on Box Furniture, Citing DMCA

Posted by timothy on from the news-of-the-nutty dept.

nospmiS remoH writes "Wired is running an article about a guy with no money making furniture out of FedEx boxes. If that weren't strange enough, FedEx is going after him, legally citing the DMCA. Yes, the DMCA. Apparently they are not upset about the furniture itself but rather this site that he put up with pictures of his creations (pretty good work really). My favorite quote from the article, '...Avila clearly intended to operate a business from his website because he used the .com domain suffix, the "commercial level domain," rather than .net.' You just can't make this stuff up."

8 of 778 comments (clear)

  1. Trademark yes, copyright no by Kelson · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Can they justifiably go after him for trademark violations? Absolutely. But copyright? You'd have to be insane.

    It's constantly amazing to see the extent to which people will abuse the DMCA to get what they want.

  2. A little bit excessive... by necro2607 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Aren't there laws about making absolutely unreasonable legal threats towards someone? ...

    This is wayyy over the line!

    Well, guess I won't be shipping any packages with FedEx any time soon. Knowing that "that could be me" is enough for me to boycott the company and encourage others to do so as well...

  3. The catch? Those aren't your USPS boxes! by pergamon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Shipping supplies from the USPS state very clearly that they're the property of the USPS. The first time you order a shipment of boxes from the USPS, they make you sign something saying that you acknowledge this fact and that those supplies are indeed only for the purpose of sending stuff by means of USPS.

    I had thought Fedex and UPS did the same, but I just examined a couple Fedex medium boxes we had laying around here and they don't say anything of the sort.

  4. Re:Free Boxes from UPS & FedEx by blackbear · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I did this the last time I moved. Those are very stong boxes. They also happen to be the perfect size and strength to move books. You can put just enough books in that an average person can easily carry the box, and it won't break.

    The boxes you buy from the packing store are far from being as strong.

  5. Re:The catch? Those aren't your USPS boxes! by shotfeel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    But I don't care what agreement the shipper & shipping company may have, if its a box that's shipped to me, I consider it my property.

    Because if they do think they still own the box after the delivery has been made, they'd better get over here and pick them up or I'm sending them the bill for expenses and labor used to properly dispose of their boxes.

    Note I am talking about boxes that have been used for shipping something, not empty boxes the shipping company may have provided with the understanding that they be used in doing business with them. Its not entirely clear to me how he got his boxes.

  6. Re:Free Boxes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why don't we let FedEx know what we think of this action?

    https://www.fedex.com/cgi-bin/qrf2.cgi?link=4&firs t=y&formpage=general

    Here's the message that I sent:

    I saw this article today in Wired:

    http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,68492,00. html

    I think it's despicable that FedEx is using the DMCA to harass a guy who can't afford furniture and is just trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation. Perhaps you have forgotten the time that the owner of FedEx gambled the company payroll in Vegas to save the company.

    As a result of this incident, I will be shipping with UPS whenever possible.

    I also know a few hundred thousand other people who feel the same way:

    http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/08/11/1715204.shtml ?tid=123&tid=17

  7. Re:Free Boxes by AviLazar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You "know a few hundred thousand other people"? Maybe you mean you saw a list of a few hundred thousand people who feel the same way as you? I don't even know a few hundred thousand other people - and I doubt I have ever met a few hundred thousand other people.

    Not to mention what this guy was wrong:
    FedEx sends these boxes under the good faith that you will use them to ship through FedEx (walk into a FedEx store and ask them for a box and they sell them...ship with the box and its free). So he is using their shipping supplies at no cost, using their name (fedexfurniture.com) and the furniture which is their name. All of this for a product. Maybe, as opposed to sitting 20 hours a day at his FedEx box, he should go out and get a job?

    Great ingenuity on his part (or I should say his friends) - if he just made this stuff for himself and a couple of friends and said "hey look at this" it would be fine...but he is making a profit on another company w/o their permission - and they are losing money. That is NOT cool.

    --

    I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
  8. Oh snap! by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 3, Interesting

    FedEx is clearly a not for profit organization because they have fedex.org!

    Hey, FedEx, /cry about it.

    --
    Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.