

This is how I got punk'd today - jeffwidman

I just received this email.<p>A guy says our product (PageLever) infringes on a copyright owned by his client:<p>My questions at the end of the letter.<p>----------------------------------------------------------<p>Dear Jeff Widman,<p>I represent [redacted]. It has come to my attention that you have made an unauthorized claim of the business name Page Lever, which will from hereon be referred to as the the Name. I am personally contacting you directly so as to best be able to address this issue at a personal level to try to avoid future legal implications that none of the parties herein named would prefer.<p>My Client has reserved all rights for the Name, first published on April 3, 2009. I have in my possession the registered copyright documentation for the Name.<p>Your Name and Website, http://www.PageLever.com is identical to the Name and clearly used the Name as its basis.<p>As you failed to receive permission to use the Name from my Client, [Redacted], and you did not receive permission to make or distribute copies, including electronic copies, you have infringed my client's rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $150,000 as set forth in Section 504(c)(2).<p>I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of http://www.PageLever.com and all other uses of the Name, which was derived from the Name, and all copies, including electronic copies. All unused and undistributed copies, including electronic copies, if applicable, are to be turned over to my Client's ownership, or to be destroyed immediately. You are to desist from reproducing Page Lever or http://www.PageLever.com or any other infringement of my rights in the future.<p>If I have not received an affirmative response from you by April 14, 2011 indicating that you have fully complied with these requirements, I, on behalf of my Client, will be forced to take further action against you that will include, but will not be limited to: seeking a copyright infringement lawyer, reporting this to any ad programs you may have on electronic copies, and seeking proper copyright infringement litigation for any damages caused by this reproduction.<p>Sincerely,<p>Alan J. Shore<p>Alan J. Shore
Shore and Associates
Florida State Bar No. 1-2345
111 South Street or P.O. Box 111
Miami, FL 82001
[redacted]@gmail.com<p>-----------------------------------------------------------<p>1) This letter appears fake, perhaps someone trying to extort money from us.  How do I determine whether it's real?<p>2) Should this turn out not to be fake, the consequences range from annoying to serious. How do I prove that we have a legitimate claim to the names "PageLever" and "Page Lever"?<p>3) Even if this turns out to be a fake, I want to remove any risk of this happening in the future--should I file a copyright in our state of incorporation, or a trademark with the USPTO, or what?<p>Background: 
I registered the domain in October 2009, barely more than 6 months after he claimed to file the copyright document.<p>We've been publicly using the name for various Facebook tools since July 2010. At the time I registered the domain, Google turned up pretty much nothing for the word "PageLever", and I couldn't find anything in Google to show this guy has been actively using the name.<p>It definitely smells fake--I think it should be a "trademark infringement" not a "copyright document", there's no phone number, it uses a gmail account, the office isn't listed on Google Maps, he isn't listed in the Florida Bar, (plus what are the odds his member number would be 1-2345?)<p>Aside from whether or not it's real, it's actually a fairly humorous letter.
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mark-r
First step, talk to a lawyer. Don't trust anything you read on the internet,
including what comes next - I am not a lawyer, and even if I were I am not
_your_ lawyer.

I find it funny that the letter talks about copyright and making copies. You
can't copyright a name, although you can certainly trademark it. uspto.gov has
a trademark search function.

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ChuckMcM
First, its not a copyright infringement its Trademark infringement, they are
different. Search the USPTO trademark data base to see his clients trademark
and their filing date.

If you don't believe there would be significant you can do one of two things:
1) Have an attorney respond that upon reviewing his letter you have concluded
there is no basis for infringement. 2) Ignore him (although watch your mail
for a certified letter notifying you if they decide to file suit.)

If on the other hand you find they have a trademark, legally registered, and
that your business is apt to cause their customers confusion, then you your
response will be somewhat different.

~~~
jeffwidman
I thought there was something about where if we're legitimately using the
name, then even if we don't file the trademark, no one can come along after us
and file for it... am I wrong?

~~~
ChuckMcM
Yes, if you are doing business with the mark you get precedence, especially if
there is lots of documentation that it predates the filing.

However, be aware that everything I know about trademarks I learned over the
an intense 6 week period when Sun was trying to figure out what to call Java
(my suggestion was 'Silk' :-) and the browser (initially WebRunner but that
was already in process by Apple/Taligent).

Do consult a lawyer, do file for a mark if you want to keep it.

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ChuckMcM
This is the search page for trademarks:
[http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=401...](http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4010:11gdf3.1.1)

Note that they use the Sun Logo as their favicon :-)

~~~
jeffwidman
Thx--I checked that, and nothing for PageLever or Page Lever appears.

Anyone have know an article that can walk me through the process of filing a
trademark?

(I'll probably have our lawyer do it, but I want to make sure I understand the
process)

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bmelton
If you haven't altered the signature, I'm thinking it's an April Fool's prank.

\- Alan J. Shore is the name of James Spader's character on "The Practice" and
"Boston Legal".

\- Bar IDs in the state of Florida do not have hyphens.

\- 1-2345 is a very unlikely Bar ID regardless of the hyphen.

\- There is no registered "Alan Shore" in Miami (though there is an Allen M
Shore in Fort Lauderdale).

\- I can't find any Trademark registration for either PageLever or Page Lever.

\- Edit: 12345 belongs to Samuel O Carson, of Gainesville, FL; Deceased.
[http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/0D856BE6EA32ECE1052576D9...](http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/0D856BE6EA32ECE1052576D9006CBABB/F9EFF7B20A77982885256A82007C40E4?OpenDocument)

At this point, I'm thinking you've been Punk'd.

You should note, however, that if somebody else comes behind you and registers
PageLever as a Trademark, it's very possible for them to take your domain
legally.

Edited to add a link to Samuel Carson. Thanks FirstHop

~~~
jeffwidman
You're totally right.

Just got a phone call from my sister... she totally punk'd me. Now the ENTIRE
office is rolling on the ground laughing...

Of all people, my non-techy sister!

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nbpoole
You sure one of your friends isn't trying to freak you out on April Fools Day?

~~~
mark-r
And there's no better reward for the prankster than taking your freak-out
public.

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FirstHopSystems
There is a cheap service that could help you with the authenticity. But I
don't want to spam good ole HN with it =P.

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tjr
The zip code 82001 is not Miami, it's Cheyenne, Wyoming.

