

A Sandwich, a Startup, and Soon, a Lawsuit? The Crunchbutton Story - jrosenblatt
http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2013/04/02/a-sandwich-a-startup-and-a-lawsuit-the-crunchbutton-story/

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rayiner
> The letter went on to demand that Crunchbutton stop listing Jo’s on its
> website; stop offering delivery service from any Brown dining establishment;
> stop collecting student ID numbers (for payment purposes); destroy any
> retained ID numbers; and stop using Brown facilities for any marketing or
> promotional activities.

Except perhaps the first one, none of these seem unreasonable to me. The
article also seems to gloss over aspects of the situation that could make this
"innovator" look bad. Why did they need to collect student ID's for "payment
purposes?" What exactly was this "defamatory statement?"

When your "innovation" consists of leveraging someone else's product, it's
generally bad form (even if not illegal per se, unless it amounts to trademark
infringement) to make it seem like you have an association with them when you
don't.

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ynniv
_When your "innovation" consists of leveraging someone else's product, it's
generally bad form (even if not illegal per se, unless it amounts to trademark
infringement) to make it seem like you have an association with them when you
don't._

I know there were recent discussions about copyrights with the Aereo decision,
but come on: this company submits an order for delivery to you. THEY ARE
LISTING WHAT YOU MIGHT GET. I can assure you that the manager of the shop
isn't complaining about the increased business. In fact, I can't even see why
there is a complaint. Perhaps this is a loss leading sandwich?

Delivering Jo's sandwiches is not Crunchbutton's core business, which is
charging a premium to deliver above average food with below average hassle. If
the university really wants to swing their IP around, all they will succeed in
doing is making another local food business more successful. (Come to think of
it, they're probably preemptively attacking Crunchbutton over something
frivolous to protect their high rent on campus food service real estate.)

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rayiner
My guess is that the letter was sent because: 1) Crunchbutton was collecting
student ID numbers, which rightfully raises security concerns; 2) This was a
campus restaurant not open to the public, and the school has a legitimate
interest in how it is used.

Again, a letter being sent doesn't mean a suit is being filed. The reason a
lawyer sent it is because of the potential for legal issues, but by itself the
letter has no more force than a "we don't want you to do this, please stop."

The article is devoid of any details and written to paint Crunchbutton in a
good light. We have no idea what was actually on the website that prompted the
letter. But if I were creating a delivery site for orders to a campus-operated
restaurant to campus students, and collecting school ID's, I would think it
pretty prudent to run it by the school, even if only for the potential
security concerns.

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ynniv
I am familiar with the concept of nastygrams.

You said: _When your "innovation" consists of leveraging someone else's
product, it's generally bad form (even if not illegal per se, unless it
amounts to trademark infringement) to make it seem like you have an
association with them when you don't._

And this makes little sense in the current context. Their innovation has
nothing to do with Brown or how Brown delivers food. They used the shop name
while they were doing business with them, and they collected information
(voluntarily) that was required to conduct business.

 _The article is devoid of any details and written to paint Crunchbutton in a
good light._

Honestly, are we reading the same article? I know that you're looking for
specific details that a court would use, but most of the information is
provided. Outside service tries to fill a customer demand while increasing
business for a local provider, someone higher up is displeased by this and
dispatches the lawyers to find something wrong. What this really says to me is
that universities are deterring competition in their meal programs, which of
course means there is extra room for competition.

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jrockway
It doesn't sound like Brown has a particularly solid case. I see no reason why
an outside company can't request student ID numbers, nor can I see a problem
with an outside company paying someone to go to the restaurant and pick up a
bunch of sandwiches now and again.

Step 1: Write nastygram with no intention of filing a lawsuit and hope the
empty threats scare away the people you don't like.

Step 2: ???

Step 3: Profit?

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rayiner
There are safety/security implications to having a company e.g. use student ID
numbers to do the various nefarious things companies do these days with
personal information. Especially in a campus environment, with a restaurant
that seems like it wasn't open to the general public.

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nicoly5000
Sure, but they deleted the Brown IDs and complied with Brown's demands after
the cease and desist. Now they're making these sandwiches at another
restaurant, and Brown's still threatening them.

~~~
rayiner
We have no idea what for--the article just gives a quote from Rosenblatt: "The
startup has heard nothing more from Brown directly. But Rosenblatt says the
same Brown lawyer started “harassing Betaspring” on March 18 with e-mails and
phone calls to the accelerator’s partners and office manager; Rosenblatt says
his interpretation was that the university was “preparing to serve us” with a
lawsuit."

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cjkarr
Collecting student ID numbers is a big no-no, given the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. While the startup may not be bound by FERPA,
Brown is responsible for protecting those student ID numbers. The University
of Tennessee has a decent guide to the statute:
<http://ferpa.utk.edu/questions.php>

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mhluongo
Well shit. How were you guys even offering delivery for said sandwich if Brown
wasn't involved? Are you moving to power delivery yourselves?

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mhluongo
On second thought, it's probably good if you guys don't respond to comments,
duh.

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michaelhoffman
It's not the Ivy League, just one member, Brown.

And no one has been sued.

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michaelhoffman
This was in response to the original false title for this submission.

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mechnik
I imagine Brown has some sort of student run "Student Services", e.g. fridge
rentals, bagel deliveries, bouncers, etc..., and would welcome service such as
yours if it were run by its own students. Why not offer an affiliate/franchise
campus program?

~~~
mechnik
I remember when a student would walk through the dorms each afternoon, yelling
'Bagelman is here'. His business was sanctioned by the university, otherwise
it was his own affair. These days, instead of yelling, you could have a phone
app which would alert customers that the seller is near, transmit orders to
him/her, maybe even use a mobile payment scheme to complete the transaction
for whatever.

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notmarkus
I met these guys back in September and we talked a lot about Providence
restaurants. Glad to see they're doing well enough to get sued by Brown...
Sort of...

