Watching this conflict unfold should be interesting… what are the limits of trademark protection in the blogging universe?
Blogger Vows To Fight On Against Goldman Sachs
Courtesy of John Carney at ClusterStock
The Telegraph has interviewed Mike Morgan, the blogger who runs "Facts about Goldman Sachs," the web address for which is goldmansachs666.com. Yesterday we broke the news that Goldman was trying to shut down the website, which is critical of Goldman’s role in the financial meltdown.
It looks like Mike is vowing to keep up the battle. From the Telegraph:
On a special section of his blog entitled "Goldman Sachs vs Mike Morgan" he predicts that the fight will probably end up in court.
"It’s just another example of how a bully like Goldman Sachs tries to throw their weight around," he writes.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Morgan explained how he went through a similar battle with US homebuilder Lennar a few years ago after he set up a website to collect information on what he alleged was shoddy workmanship in its homes. The pair eventually settled out of court.
"Since I went through this with Lennar, I’ve had advice from some of the best intellectual property lawyers, and I know exactly what I can and can’t do. We’re not going to back down from this," he promises.
Lawyers for Goldman Sachs are threatening a federal lawsuit against a blog that is critical of the investment bank.
The website "Facts About Goldman Sachs" states that it is an "open forum for facts and discussion about what part Goldman Sachs and their executives played in the current Global Economic Crisis." It is, as you can imagine, extremely critical of the investment bank. Now lawyers from the law firm Chadbourne & Parke have sent a letter to the proprietor, Mike Morgan, claiming that the website’s URL, goldmansachs666.com, infringes on the investment bank’s trademark.
"Your use of the mark GOLDMAN SACHS violates several of Goldman Sachs’ intellectual property rights, constitutes an act of trademark infringement, unfair competition and implies a relationship and misrepresents commercial activity and/or an affiliation between you and Goldman Sachs which does not exist and additionally creates confusion in the marketplace," Goldman’s lawyer writes. (The full letter is below.)
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