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Chicago Law Firm Sues Over Hyperlink To Trademarked Name

TheSpoom writes "Large Chicago law firm Jones Day are suing internet startup BlockShopper over the issue of whether linking to a business with their trademarked name should be legal. It would seem they are using trademark dilution as a tool to get BlockShopper to cease linking to their website. The EFF has filed an amicus curiae, as might be expected. If Jones Day wins this suit, anyone linking using a trademarked name may be in legal hot water."

21 of 162 comments (clear)

  1. News at 11. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Next in news: all trademarked names sink on Google.

  2. Jones Day Contact Form by DankNinja · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let 'em know what you think:

    http://www.jonesday.com/contact/contact.aspx

    --

  3. Re:Litigious bastards by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who are Jones Day anyway? How could Jones Day be concerned with trademark dilution if nobody outside of their own damn office building knows who they are? If they were to become popular nationwide, i'd hope it'd be because of this discussion on slashdot - but would the Streisand effect be good or bad for Jones Day?

    p.s. Jones Day sucks.

  4. Yes, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    How would Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo! feel about this?

    1. Re:Yes, but... by dietdew7 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Has this technique of having the hyperlink text say one thing and the actual link point somewhere else been patented yet? The applications are endless.

    2. Re:Yes, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Why, I agree good sir! It's a good thing Jones Day didn't patent it first!

  5. Dan Reidy by DankNinja · · Score: 5, Funny

    Better yet,

    contact the guy in charge:

    Daniel E. Reidy

    Tel: 1.312.269.4140
    Fax: 1.312.782.8585

    Email: dereidy@jonesday.com

  6. Jones Day Is Based In Cleveland by darkmeridian · · Score: 3, Funny

    Jones Day was founded in Cleveland and has its largest office there. Moreover, the problem is people linking non-Jones-Day-related stuff to "Jones Day." Pretend I linked your name to "Asshole."

    --
    A NYC lawyer blogs. http://www.chuangblog.com/
    1. Re:Jones Day Is Based In Cleveland by andy1307 · · Score: 5, Funny
  7. Guess they'll have to sue the phone book, too. by EWAdams · · Score: 3, Funny

    It also includes their trademarked name. How dare it!

    --
    I piss off bigots.
  8. Re:OK by Hyppy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Pfft! And they try to gain cred by claiming to be "Pro Bono". I bet they've never even MET Bono. :-)

    They're actually pro-SONNY Bono, considering their apparent view on copyrights and trademarks.

  9. Re:How not to advertise your business by AlHunt · · Score: 5, Funny

    I had fun lately with some telemarketer calling to "update their database" - certainly not to try and SELL us anything. This is the last kind of crap we want.

    I asked for her fax number so I could fax her our "Database Inclusion Agreemnet". They'd need to fill it out and return it with either the $2,500 annual license fee to include our copyrighted corporate name in their database or the $25,000 "Lifetime License Agreement". I explained that by including us without such agreement and fee we felt they would be guilty of copyright infringement and be referred to our legal department.

    Not surprisingly, I got hung up on. I really need to get to work on that inclusion agreement. And get a legal department.

    --
    1 in 4 Maine children in struggle with hunger.
  10. Re:I say we give 'em what they want. by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm looking at you funny. WHACHAGONNADOABOUTIT?

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  11. Re:I say we give 'em what they want. by AKAImBatman · · Score: 2, Funny

    Punish you, obviously.

    I hereby call on the power of grayskull to mod parent +5 Funny!

    We'll see how you like that!

  12. Re:Litigious bastards by PhreakOfTime · · Score: 4, Funny

    You are correct. However, instead of actually looking up the name of the owner of these domains using a WHOIS, the lawyer who wrote the letter seemingly just opened up a phone book and found the same last name as me, and sent the letter there first. This was not my address.

    The letter was sent to SOMEONE ELSE first, then back to the attorney, who then finally figured out he had the wrong address. This took almost 2 months before it finally made its way to me. That is why on the letter I posted online, the address is blacked out, since it is one of a completely unrelated party. The only similarity was that they have the same last name as myself.

    These guys are on the ball, yes?

  13. Re:Interesting site, BlockShopper by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 3, Funny

    "are generally listed in the classified section of your local news paper"

    So you admit that the information is CLASSIFIED!

    --
    Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
  14. Re:Death of The Web by InsaneMosquito · · Score: 2, Funny

    MS has fended off the government by themselves. With Google and Yahoo! backing them, they can wipe this law firm off the map.

    Conveniently enough, that's exactly what they want.

  15. Re:How not to advertise your business by barzok · · Score: 2, Funny

    You should have called it a "Database Inclusion Agreemnet Form". That way you could rightly tell her to DIAF.

  16. Re:Litigious bastards by Random+BedHead+Ed · · Score: 2, Funny

    Who are Jones Day anyway? How could Jones Day be concerned with trademark dilution if nobody outside of their own damn office building knows who they are?

    Congratulations, user 1125189, you've won a free trip to glorious Cleveland, Ohio, courtesy of Jones Day - One Firm Worlwide. Please proceed to your front door, where our siren-topped courtesy vehicle will pick you up in twenty minutes.

  17. Re:Litigious bastards by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2, Funny

    I bought my current house from an individual who was forced to sell by his bank. In the years since he has got into more trouble but when court officials come looking for him they always come here because he didn't give them his new address.

    One trick he seems to use is that when a lawyer refuses to work for him because they haven't been paid he just finds another lawyer and uses them to sue the previous one.

  18. Re:Litigious bastards by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is there something about real estate where the blinders to the outside world are so intense, that they stop the line of thought the prevents a company from considering the 'law of unintended consequences'?

    They didn't write that one.