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VirtualDub Author Stymied by Trademark Troll

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the did-he-also-register-'lynch-mob'? dept.

trifish writes "The author of VirtualDub wrote on his blog that 'someone has registered "VirtualDub" as a "word mark" in Germany as of June 6, 2006 and is now sending out notices to people in that country demanding money for so much as mentioning the program and linking to the SourceForge download from their website.' Well, I confess that only now I fully understand why Linux, Mozilla, TrueCrypt, and other open source projects register their names as trademarks."

17 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. mod him down! by krell · · Score: 5, Funny

    It'll never be too soon to apply the slashdot moderation system to the patent system and everything else.

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
    1. Re:mod him down! by Snarfangel · · Score: 4, Funny

      Normal -- Average invention, will sit and gather dust somewhere
      Offtopic -- Invention won't do what it claims
      Flamebait -- Violates known laws of physics
      Troll -- Attempt to steal another person's invention
      Redundant -- Has been "invented" before. Multiple times.
      Insightful -- What a cool invention! Also known as troll attractant.
      Interesting -- Not sure what it's used for, but fun to watch
      Informative -- Will be referred to in future inventions
      Funny -- It blows up when someone uses it
      Overrated -- Does something redundant, but with just one click!
      Underrated -- No one knows what it does, but it will form a completely new industry

      --
      This tagline is copyrighted material. Please send $10 for an affordable replacement.
    2. Re:mod him down! by nahdude812 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I regularly positively moderate people even when I don't agree with what they've said. I'm operating on the meaning of the moderation words themselves rather than whether or not I philosophically agree. Most mods, however, seem to see the moderation system as a way to promote personal agendas which is IMHO an abuse of the moderation system. So I think what you're saying is a good idea, because it might cause more people to be modded up even if their view differs from the community.

      The unfortunate side effect of me using the moderation system as I believe it was intended to be used (rather than the way it's actually used by most of the mods) is that I get periodic unfair moderation metamoderations, which comes with a karma hit =(. This actually disencourages me from moderating, which is unfortunate since I try very hard to be an impartial mod and consider whether their post has validity, not whether I agree with it. I'm not willing to karma whore to make up for lost moderation karma, so in this sense the system favors the abusers.

      --
      Slay a dragon... over lunch!
  2. Who? by phorm · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So who is it that has registered this "word mark" anyhow? The blog itself is pretty short on details, as it appears those that link to or use virtualdub have been getting the letters, and not the author himself.

    Also, one wonders if there is some legal way to charge and/or get money back from somebody who is illegally using the name of your product to extort money.

    1. Re:Who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      According to german internet news site "golem.de", it is "Internet Dienstleistungen Kliemen". The page is offline now (it was hosted by arcor.de and had freecity.de redirect ads in a frame, so I guess it was free hosting). The redirect page listed Michael Kliemen (webmaster@kliemen.de) as the author. The onsite contact information was: Internet Dienstleistungen Raimar Kliemen, Hauptstr. 99, 67126 Hochdorf, mail: info@kliemen.de, phone: 0151/10372291 (that's +49-151-10372291 internationally).

  3. Virtuadub by Threni · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, sue me. Oh, only in Germany though. Bigtime. Today Germany, tomorrow.....Belgium!

  4. Comments more interesting... by himurabattousai · · Score: 5, Interesting
    It appears that the author or VirtualDub might not be in trouble at all. According to the comments about his blog entry, the letters are worthless if they aren't from a lawyer--and sometimes even if they are. It also seems that since his program has documented existence that predates the word mark "registration," such a registration would be invalid.

    No less troubling, though, are those who can't do a damn thing in life trying to legally steal from those who actually produce something of value. I can't think of any better word to describe the actions of people who create nothing, not even ideas, and sue when someone comes up with a device that loosely resembles their mystery ideas.

    --
    "osake no hou ga, biiru yori ii" to omotteiru.
    1. Re:Comments more interesting... by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Informative

      There is actually a rather infamous lawyer in Germany who's been harrassing people for a long, long time (especially for copyright infringement whose companion was, interesting enough, arrested for running a warez-FTP server), I wouldn't put it beyond him to register the VirtualDub 'word mark' to continue his profitable practice of milking the unsuspecting.

      Why again is it illegal to shoot lawyers on sight?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  5. Re:Jawohl! by DoktorTomoe · · Score: 4, Informative

    You are free to do so. With the twisted German jurisdiction, not you are to be held responsible, but the owner of the webpage you have been mentioning V********b, as he should/ought/could have prevented the mentioning on his page.

    There actually *is* a reason why Germans are required to have a imprint on their pages (Don't believe me? Look for "6 Teledienstgesetz").

    --
    Screw the FSM - Real geeks believe in the Invisible Pink Unicorn
  6. Er... this is stupid by brunes69 · · Score: 3, Informative

    You can't sue someone for using your trademark in a publication, as long as the trademark actually referrs to your product, there is no problem.

    Why do you think review sites are allowed to bash Sony / Microsoft / FooBrand products without fear of retribution?

    The point of a trademark is not to keep people from talking about your product, it is to keep another company from pretending to be your product.

    1. Re:Er... this is stupid by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Informative

      Exactly that is supposedly happening. Or at least so the person who registered the trademark claims.

      His claim is that he owns the trademark and has a product (if he has one is irrelevant, at least for the law) by that name, and that the "false" VirtualDub is trying to mooch from his publicity.

      He's not suing people who talk about it. He sues people who link to the downloads.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  7. Re:I thought Europe had better protections by MyNameIsFred · · Score: 3, Interesting
    ...I've often read that European laws offer their citizens greater protection than the US...
    When you compare two countries laws, there are always instances where country A is better than country B. And other instances where the opposite is true. For example, see the many European criticisms of the Patriot Act. One the other hand, I note the recent foiled plot in England, the British police used powers that are likely unconstitutional in the US. It is not hard to find similar examples. Look at the recent slashdot discussion on evolution. Many people pinged on US atitutdes, ignoring surveys in Europe showing similar atitudes My point being, neither Europe or the US has a monopoly on good laws or atitudes.
  8. Does that mean ... by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...MS Products are usually somewhere between Offtopic and Funny?

    Hmm... kinda correct, if you think about it...

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  9. Re:Jawohl! by MarkGriz · · Score: 5, Funny

    "I'm going to start using the word "VirtualDub" as often as I can"

    Be sure to use it as a verb, that really pisses off trademark holders.

    IANAL, so how do I know? I googled it and sure enough, trademark owners hate that.
    Google it yourself and see.

    --
    Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
  10. Google THIS by The_REAL_DZA · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's good fun, but you should try Googling "Google". When you Google "Google", all the Googles you get back aren't googles but GOOGLES! What's more, I suspect that if Google Googled Google, there'd be a GAGGLE of Googles Googled (and what's more Google than Google Google Google? Google? google...)

    --


    This space intentionally left (almost) blank.
  11. Re:I'm not one for vigilante justice by dorkygeek · · Score: 3, Funny

    So this IS South Korea?

    --
    Windows is like decaf - it tastes like the real thing, but it won't get you through the day.
  12. Why Linux is trademarked by Xtifr · · Score: 4, Informative

    > "Well, I confess that only now I fully understand why Linux, Mozilla, TrueCrypt, and other open source projects register their names as trademarks"

    In the case of Linux(tm), it's precisely because back in the mid-nineties, someone named William Della Croce, Jr. tried to hijack the mark and extort money from various vendors and publishers. It took a year, and a bunch of money, to get the matter resolved and the trademark reassigned to Linus.

    It was an ugly and sordid affair, and I really wish there were better alternatives than either registering a mark or allowing it to be attacked by trolls. Prior use of a mark--even an unregistered mark--does (or should) count against trolls, at least in the US, but it can still be a hassle to fight them off if the mark's not registered. Personally, I would like to see the term "Linux" become a generic term (like "Aspirin"), but I can understand why Linus is reluctant to allow that to happen after the Dell Croce incident.