---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 17:25:00 -0500 From: Fran McGehee Subject: RE: Bianca's Smut Shack and Radio Shack To: alizard@ecis.com alizard, Thank you for your message. Tandy Corporation routinely monitors the federal publication where new trademark applications are published. If a new trademark application covers a class of products where we hold a trademark and believe it infringes on one of our trademarks, we request that the applicant withdraw it. If this fails, the next step is to file an "opposition" to the application with the Patent and Trademark Office. The opposition is not a lawsuit. It is an administrative action. Tandy Corporation has not sought any "fines," damages or penalties from the owners of the Bianca Internet site. Tandy Corporation has a significant investment in its trademarks, "RadioShack", "The Shack", and "Shack". These marks represent valuable assets and any unauthorized use dilutes their value to the corporation. We value you as a customer as well, and hope that you will reconsider and visit one of our stores soon. Thanks again. Fran McGehee TANDY MEDIA RELATIONS ================================== >From alizard@ecis.com Fri Apr 25 16:06:39 1997 Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 16:06:39 -0700 (PDT) From: "A.Lizard" To: Fran McGehee Subject: RE: Bianca's Smut Shack and Radio Shack On Thu, 24 Apr 1997, Fran McGehee wrote: > Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 17:25:00 -0500 > From: Fran McGehee > Subject: RE: Bianca's Smut Shack and Radio Shack > To: alizard@ecis.com > > alizard, > > The opposition is not a lawsuit. It is an administrative action. Tandy > Corporation has not sought any "fines," damages or penalties from the > owners of the Bianca Internet site. Thanks for insulting my intelligence. I am also aware that a small company doesn't generally have the legal resources to defend against legal action of any sort, whether lawsuit or "administrative action" invoked by a major corporation. Like the one you work for. > Tandy Corporation has a significant investment in its trademarks, > "RadioShack", "The Shack", and "Shack". These marks represent valuable > assets and any unauthorized use dilutes their value to the corporation. Horseshit. I hadn't realized until now just how low an opinion your company has of its customer base. No sane person would mistake "Smut Shack" for "Radio Shack"... unless Tandy Corp. is planning into venturing into the pornography business. Is it? If so, I hope your porn works better than your Trash-80s did. The fact that your company can take legal action simply reflects the fact that Congress goofed on the last revision of the laws governing this class of intellectual property... specifically the codes governing trademark "dilution". > We value you as a customer as well, and hope that you will reconsider > and visit one of our stores soon. I hadn't realized quite the level of contempt your company, at least at a corporate level has for its customer base. You should be glad this hasn't reached the store level, otherwise you wouldn't have a company to work for. > Thanks again. > Fran McGehee > TANDY MEDIA RELATIONS Thanks for reminding me that I'm a journalist... I was responding as a private citizen and outraged customer. Articles about big corporations pushing around "the little guy" generally sell very well, especially when those corporations aren't advertising in the publications one is submitting you. A.Lizard ---------- > ---------- > From: alizard@ecis.com > To: customer.relations@tandy.com; Fran McGehee; Tony Magoulas; Mike > Dryden; bianca@vagabondage.com > Subject: Bianca's Smut Shack and Radio Shack > Date: Monday, April 21, 1997 7:48PM > > > Your company's attempt to bully Bianca's Smut Shack into stopping their > use of the name they've been using since 1994 is upsetting to me and the > rest of the Web community. > > I've shopped in your stores since 1966. I put this in past tense because > I won't be patronizing your stores until you stop trying to use your > corporate power to push around individuals and cyberbusinesses. > > Anyone with an IQ of over 50 can tell a Radio Shack store from Bianca's > Smut Shack. I suggest you replace your legal counsel with people with an > IQ of over 50. > > > > > > > > *** PGP2.6.2 public key available via finger or key server or request *** *** If all else fails, the backup is alizard@usa.net *** *** URL: http://www.ecis.com/~alizard/ *** "There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses." (Ezekiel 23:20) ************************************************************************ 5/28/97 and the latest one I sent via the Web site... So far, your war against Bianca's Smut Shack has reduced the value of the Radio Shack trademark far more than any alleged dilution possibly could. Like to guess the ratio of people who know the story and are merely staying out of your store to the people who have written you yet? Keep this crap up and you'll get plenty of free TV publicity... the sort that picket lines and the story of a megacorporation bullying a small business run by real people will get you. Your inept attempt at spin control via lame excuses in e-mail is merely pissing people off even further. I can get DMMs and resistors elsewhere.