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This site was last updated on: 07-05-07 |
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The Fuzzy Farm TM |
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Custom yarn from your pet's hair! TM |
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We’ve Got a New Name! |
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Come Visit us at: http://www.jimsrepair.net/TheFuzzyFarm/index.htm
Here are the facts of the matter:
1. Victoria Pettigrew, from VIP Fibers, has threatened to sue me for trademark infringement: you can see her letters to me below.
2. Neither VIP Fibers nor Victoria Pettigrew hold national Trademarks through the United States Patent and Trademark Office of any of the phrases they claim in the letter below.
3. The patents they claim to have do not apply here, as I am not violating any of them. What’s a golf ball got to do with spinning yarn, anyway?
4. Because I don’t have the luxury of being married to a trademark lawyer, and Mrs. Pettigrew is, I am simply changing the name to The Fuzzy Farm TM. I feel it is more important to serve the public than to waste time and money in frivolous lawsuits. Please note that I am not conceding that Mrs. Pettigrew is right in her claim: only that I refuse to clog the legal system with ridiculous lawsuits.
5. Please notice that I am not only claiming public trademarks on “The Fuzzy Farm,” “Everything But The Slobber,” “Home of the No Card Advantage,” and “Custom yarn from your pet’s hair,” but I also have filed for trademarks in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, so this will not happen again. |
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14119 Lillian Circle Omaha, NE 68138 |
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To contact us: |
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Phone: 402-896-1797 E-mail: furever@cox.net |
---- VIP FIBERS <victoria@vipfibers.com> wrote: The purpose of copyrights and trademarks is to protect the originality of a company and their business concept. When a second party (Fur-Ever Creations) infringes on copyrighted material it confuses the public and can cause great harm to the original company (VIP Fibers, Inc) which may result in costing you fines, fees and awards for actual and/or statutory damages regarding trademark and copyright infringement. VIP Fibers, Inc. owns the copyright on "Fur-Ever" in direct connection with hand spun yarn from pets. It is obvious from your website that you have visited www.vipfibers.com to obtain your business model. Though you are more than welcome to compete and operate a business with regards to spinning pet hair, you must do so with originality. We have put 7 years of hard work, research and great expense to create a unique business and do not appreciate any one riding on our coat tails. Please revise your website and business model immediately and notify us via email as soon as you have done so to avoid prosecution and legal actions. To assist you in your re-construction, below is a partial list of VIP Fibers, Inc. trademarks and copyrights: Big & Small, we spin them all Canine Cashmere Feline Cashmere Fur-Ever Fur-Ever Keepsakes Fur-Ever Pet yarn Fur-Ever yarn Fur-foto Fur-photo Fur-get-me-knot Fur-get-me-not Fur-get-me-not Keepsakes Pet Matrix Pet Yarn Petable frame Petable Pendants Petable Picture Frame Pétillant Yarn Un-fur-getable Very Important Pet Very Important Pet Fibers VIP Fibers Vipfibers Victoria I. Pettigrew President, VIP FIBERS, INC. Victoria@vipfibers.com My Response:From: Fur-Ever Creations [furever@cox.net] Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 7:21 PM To: VIP FIBERS Subject: Re: TRADEMARK & COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT Victoria - It was never my intention to copy your site or your business. Quite honestly, the business of spinning animal fibers into yarn has been around for thousands of years. While the traditional material in the United States has been cotton, there are many parts of the world that spin a great many different animal fibers into yarn with which to make clothing. I first learned about doing this at a renaissance demonstration at my local public library, for instance. It's good to know that we both loved our pets as much as to want to keep them close to us in a very personal way, and assist others in doing that as well. As for the format of my site, it is based on a template provided by Microsoft in the Microsoft Publisher application. The information on my site is probably similar to yours, but that's largely because the "best practices" surrounding spinning animal hair into yarn have been around for a good while, and have fairly universal adoption. The science of spinning and setting yarns is very well understood, and widely published, as is the science of preserving fibers for further use. The local library is a great place to get a good many ideas about the whole process, and has been invaluable for me. If I have infringed on a registered trademark or service mark, please just let me know where it was registered and what the registration number is. In addition, if you have any patents on your business process or model, just send me the patent number so I can get a copy off the USPTO site to make sure I don't accidentally do it again. I'm new at this whole thing, and there's no point in getting off on the wrong foot. You've worked hard for your business, and I completely respect that. Regards, -Gayle Nicoll, owner http://www.jimsrepair.net/furevercreations/index.htm And her response to my inquiry: Thank you Gayle for your response to our email of 6/26/07. The facts of the matter are as follows: The "art" of spinning "pet" fibers into yarn has been around for thousands of years. Through-out the ages, home and hobby spinners have offered the service of doing so to the local public. However, VIP Fibers, Inc. is the first official corporation to specialize in this process as a business model. VIP Fibers, Inc is a registered California Corporation. We hold and maintain Federal and State Business and Employment ID's; Business Liability Insurance, Workers Compensation Insurance and Resale Permits, to name a few. We pay Federal and State Business Taxes; Local Business Taxes and Sales Taxes. We maintain, operate and lease commercial property in order to facilitate our business as well as employing laborers; office personnel; accountants and attorneys. Trademark rights are based on legitimate first use of the mark and need not be registered to be protected. A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms "trademark" and "mark" are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks. Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of "original works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly. The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Our website: www.vipfibers.com is clearly copyrighted from 2000 to 2007, thus giving us the right of first usage under the U.S. Trademark, Servicesmark and Copyright Laws. As further proof that you are, in fact, infringing on our Trademarks and Copyright rights, we have had several phone calls from our customers who have done internet searches to find us and have come across your site. Since we have used the words "Fur-Ever" in direct connection with custom spun pet-yarn for many years throughout our website, advertising campaigns and national (as well as international) media interviews they assumed your site was VIP Fibers and were confused upon entering your site. Some even questioned if we have franchised our company. My husband, Stephen Pettigrew, is not only a corporate officer and legal council of VIP Fibers, Inc. He is, in fact, a registered patent attorney, licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. VIP Fibers has a very significant financial investment in its business and will vigorously defend its intellectual property rights. If we allow others to infringe on our trademarks, the marks become diluted and of less value. Accordingly, if you do not stop infringing on our marks by July 06, 2007, we will have no alternative but to file suit in the U.S. Federal Court against you for trademark infringement and related causes of action. Once that suit is filed, you will be unable to stop the processing without some financial damages. It is estimated that your minimum exposure for VIP Fibers' legal fees, damages and costs of suit will be approximately $15,000.00 to have the case dismissed. If the case goes full term, your minimum legal fees, damages and costs of suit could be as high as $100,000. Again, you are more than welcome to compete in business of spinning pet hair into yarn; however you must do so with originality. The name of your business should be unique, something that will identify you as a separate individual and one that does NOT confuse the general public. I do believe that you did not "intend" to infringe on our rights, however in order to prove that your infringement was unintended, you must make immediate changes to comply with the law and respect the rights of others in order to be successful and avoid extensive legal costs. Please note that once the matter reaches filing, "lack of intent" or "accidental usage" is not a legal defense, however, "willful infringement" can result in enhanced damages Continuing to use the name "Fur-Ever Creations" will show willful intent to infringe, as documented here. My husband and I own many patents, which are public record. You may view them on the USPTO website. Victoria I Pettigrew President, VIP Fibers |
