As you may have noticed, we use the trishield logo around the web site and offer a selection of t-shirts etc. from cafepress with the Buick tri-shield on it. These images were created by myself from a '63 wildcat in my yard.

I have recieved the following letter from cafepress:



Dear CafePress Storeowner,

It has recently come to our attention that you have created a merchandise store through the services of CafePress.com that may contain image(s) copyright/trademark protected by others. As stated in our Intellectual Property Rights Policy and Members Agreement all designs must be original or have proper licensing.

The use of a copyrighted name, image, logo such as that of Buick can constitute both copyright and trademark infringement. If your designs are similar to any brand or copyright, you must either have permission from the copyright holder for the images or not use the material for profit. Even if a product is not marked up from its “base price” (price offered by CafePress.com to storeowner), the sale is still legally considered a “for profit” sale.

Intellectual property infringement is a serious matter. Penalties for copyright infringement can reach $150,000 per work infringed and penalties for trademark counterfeiting can reach $1,000,000 per trademark for each type of goods sold.

In the event that you have not properly secured the right to use the images/pictures in your store for the sale of merchandise we request that you remove the images immediately.

We appreciate your time and look forward to your prompt response. Please respond no later then 4/3/03 to avoid the closure of your merchandise store.

If you have any questions relating to the above mentioned please let us know.

Best regards,

To which I have replied:

All images in my store were created by me. Please feel free to have the complainant contact me directly. The complainant is not "Buick" as they have endorsed my website and all that goes with it.

I can guess who it is, and they have tried this with other "enthusiast web sites", and failed. Please note, they have never approached me!

I have a right to know who the complainant is when you threaten to close my store.


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I don't believe the complainant is Buick, as their representatives have been at this site, and I have received encouragement in the past. I am quite certain who the complainant is, as they have tried to shut down other sites such as the "Bombsite". Buick benefits from our websites because we help to grow a solid group of enthusiasts! Who do you think doesn't like Buick enthusiasts?

I will keep you posted of any and all further correspondence.

So, who is it? If it is a company that stands to make money from the demise of this and other informative forums, we the members need to know so we can avoid doing business with them.

Give 'em hell Bob!

Maybe you could post some contact info on the individual(s). I feel a rash of hate mail commin' on....................

Bob, could you obtain a written statement from General Motors (their copyright/trademark office) that they have no problems with your use of the trademarks & logos? It may be possible to even obtain a 'license' to use the name Buick etc. for the purposes of this site for a token amount.

GM does occasionally crackdown on small vendors at flea markets etc. to prove they are defending their intellectual property, but I am sure their main interest is in limiting illicit trademark usage by big parts/accessory vendors who stand to divert big profits from GM's brands.

The similar fights that the Buick Bombsight board administrator went through (not with GM) were well-documeted on her web page the last time I looked.

Bob

I'm with nailhead_sled post the letter with signature so we can mail in our replies to them!!

It seems like Buick or GM must own the shield rights and are the only ones in position to say who uses them.

I have sent an email to the contact at the Buick.com web site to ask how to go about getting formal permission. If anyone knows exactly who to contact, department, name, phone number, etc. I would like the information.

Bob, if you don't want to post it on the board, please PM or email me with the information.
I've got a few ideas of how to deal with this.

Dear Bob,

We apprecite your response with respect to our notice.

Your store was brought to our attention by one of our staff members and not a third party. As you may know CafePress.com is diligent in assuring our users are not in violation of a third parties Intellectual Property Rights. Accordingly, we periodically conduct a search of our database for material which may need to be licensed prior to being sold through our service.

Although you have indicated in your response that an alleged IP holder will always contact our user directly this could not be further from the truth. In fact, an IP holder will see CafePress.com as the party responsible for the merchandise sale even though we are not the direct seller but a third party service provider. As a result we need to conduct our business in a manner that reduces the likely hood of a claim being brought forth as a result of a user of our service using material which may be objectionable to a third party.

We have had other users successfully obtain authorization to sell merchandise with an automotive brand, name or logo and request for you to do the same. Accordingly, please contact a representative at General Motors, their agent, or authorized representative, via email or letter giving you the authorization to sell the designs currently contained in your account.

Please feel free to contact us with any additional questions that we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,


I humbly apologize to anyone I may have offended by jumping to possible conclusions. Perhaps I should have allowed the situation to develope another couple of days. :confused:

No need to apologize Bob.
I would still be interested to hear the story behind those who tried to have Bombsite shut down..