Polite and Witty Take-Downs

"Stop Using Our Trademark... please... pretty please," writes ENSafrica  Legal blogger, Gaelyn Scott.

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=483bd976-3a57-4b40-96dd-7e0944dbacff&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2017-12-29&utm_term=

This highly readable blog tells the story of three courteous, witty and charming Cease and Desist notices that resulted in good publicity for the enforcers, and no apparent hard feelings from the recipients of the notices.  There are also at least four examples of heavy-handed approaches that backfired. So.... something for everyone.

Jeffrey S. Edelstein, legal blogger for Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP taps for inspiration the medieval-royal-banquet inspired advertisement for a certain brew. It is a charming story of a well received, themed takedown.
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=67f74b61-c31e-4e70-99f9-68c3eea682bd&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2017-12-29&utm_term=

"Dilly" by the way, is also a nickname for a stage-coach. Before trains and coaches, there was a very fast stage-coach service, known as the Diligence. I have this on the authority of "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable."

Yes, there really is a "Brewer's Dictionary." It was recommended to me by one of my English Professors at Cambridge, whose surname was Brewer.

"Dilly Dilly" is a refrain in the old English song, "Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, Lavender's green..." which was made popular by Burl Ives.  I have a vague recollection that the "lavender is blue/lavender is green" may have stemmed (pun!) from the different perspectives of lavender enjoyed by a butterfly and by a caterpillar.  The plant looks one color from below, and another from above.

Apparently, Disney appropriated "Lavender's blue, dilly dilly..." for a Cinderella cartoon movie.

Online, which girl's name is abbreviated to "Dilly",  I would have thought "Delilah", but nameberry.com offers Dilys, Dilwen, Daffodil, and then there is the masculine Dilliver, and possibly Dillon.

Other meanings of "dilly" can be found here: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/dilly

Sometimes, I am baffled that the Trademark authorities award trademarks for words and phrases that have been in common (or even in arcane) use for decades.

Ending on a sour note, this author was disappointed to see a regular guest on a Fox News program on Saturday speak approvingly of Britain's London School of Economics (as I recall), which I understood her to claim provided subsidized photocopying services to allow students to photocopy textbooks instead of purchasing or renting them. Photocopying textbooks may well be copyright infringement if one copies subtantially. It is not "fair dealing", under UK law, if the copying of the work is a substitute for the purchase of the work and affects sales of the work.

One guide for educators in the USA. http://www.kasunic.com/article2.htm
A guide for educators in the UK https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/375951/Education_and_Teaching.pdf

One should be wary how one uses a photocopier!
For our European readers,Advocate  Elaine Gray of AO Hall in Guernsey offers comprehensive and timeless advice from 2010 about copyright.

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=634f9488-7fd6-466a-b25e-5c04b4b3b0c2

Authors, have you audited your websites and social media pages recently? If you host images or music that was created by someone other than yourself, are your licenses and rights up to date? Are you sure?

Wishing everyone a healthy, prosperous, and happy New Year!

Rowena Cherry

Sample Take-Down Notice

If you find your work being shared without your express consent on a "file-sharing" site, or a subscription site, or on a blog, or on a social networking site, please feel free to adapt this template Cease and Desist notice.

I, (Insert Name), have permission to act on behalf of copyright holder (Insert Name) and the author(s). I have good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law. The information contained in this notice is accurate and under penalty of perjury I am authorized to act on behalf of (Insert Name). The following link/s are being shared illegally via this particular page(s) and user through your site and page(s):
Please remove the entire page:
(Insert Links to Titles Here)
These users do not have permission from (Insert Name). to offer these books for download. This constitutes theft on the part of your users and this note serves as official notice of illegal activity taking place through your website as well as a clear violation of your stated Terms of Service.
Please cease and desist from allowing the uploading and trading of these materials immediately. No further warnings will be issued.

If your works are being shared on EBay, you can click to Report the copyright infringement, and you will probably be told to sign up for EBay's VeRo program or VRT program (both relatively useless) and to send a fax to EBay.

If you do go to the trouble of contacting EBay (and EBay uk), it is worth demanding a recall.... Ask EBay to inform all Buyers of the illegal copies of your work that they have purchased an illegal copy of a copyrighted work; ask EBay to ban the account of the copyright infringer; demand payment of the fair market price of each copy of your work that was sold by the Seller. You can extrapolate this by looking at the Seller's Feedback as a Seller.

Keep a screen capture.

You probably won't get paid a cent, but for legal reasons, it is worth making the demand.


It is also very much worth reporting copyright infringers to PayPal if you know their email address.

Go to Paypal.com

Click

My Account
- scroll down to the bottom to-
Legal Agreements

Under "For All Users" choose Paypal Acceptable Use Policy
- scroll down to the bottom to-
"Violations of the Acceptable Use Policy" where it says "We encourage you to
report violations of this Acceptable Use Policy to PayPal immediately."

 

Click "Report"
Topic = Report Fraud/Prohibit Use
Subtopic - Report Prohibited Items Being Sold Using Paypal