Author Topic: Urban Homesteading trademarked, Dervaes Family gets Death Threats (Read 138528 times)

chrisdfw · « **Reply #210 on:** February 22, 2011, 09:34:27 PM »

Quote from: TexDaddy on February 22, 2011, 09:28:37 PM

Probably, so long as there is no chance of "product confusion" and he did not try to make his logos look like theirs. For instance, GM once marketed a vehicle under the nameplate 'Beretta.' Of course this was already and still is a firearms manufacturer. The gun maker sued GM over the use of their trademarked name. It was settled out of court for "an undisclosed product exchange." GM sold Berettas (POS) and the gun maker said no more. I always wondered which, how many and who got the products Beretta traded to GM.

I think having the Beretta name on that POS is an afront to everything that is good and right in the world. Hopefully the products Beretta got in exchange were not that particular vehicle.

I think the real issue here is that the term has been in common use so long and by others that you can't possible claim exclusive use without either perjury or such a level of ignorance as to rise to what I would call "negligent ignorance"

So is this trademark claim perjury or negligent ignorance? That is what I would ask the Dervaeses if I got them on the stand. Which is it? Answer the question? I want the truth!

Nicodemus · « **Reply #211 on:** February 22, 2011, 09:42:22 PM »

So basically if the the Dervaes Family filled out the forms online at Legal Zoom or something similar and spent a small fee for the service there would have been no big loss if they'd have just dropped it when complaints began to surface. Now it's going to really cost them to sort this out because people are talking damages.

They wanted the Dervaes Legacy to be Urban Homesteading, and it's turning out to be a legacy of comical error and lack of foresight. Smooooooth.

TexDaddy · « **Reply #212 on:** February 22, 2011, 09:46:13 PM »

Quote from: chrisdfw on February 22, 2011, 09:34:27 PM

I think having the Beretta name on that POS is an afront to everything that is good and right in the world...

Well, most of it anyway.

Quote from: chrisdfw on February 22, 2011, 09:34:27 PM

...I think the real issue here is that the term has been in common use so long and by others that you can't possible claim exclusive use without either perjury or such a level of ignorance as to rise to what I would call "negligent ignorance"

So is this trademark claim perjury or negligent ignorance? That is what I would ask the Dervaeses if I got them on the stand. Which is it? Answer the question? I want the truth!

You have said so much better than I, what I have been driving at. (No pun here, of course.

)

Dawgus · « **Reply #213 on:** February 23, 2011, 04:17:44 AM »

Anyone remember the De®vaes "Ten Elements of Urban Homesteading"?
#10 seems to really stand out for some reason......I just can't figure out why.

"10. Be a good neighbor. Offer a helping hand for free. Urban homesteading is a community-based way of life, not a business opportunity. Be a neighbor, not a business person. "

hanzel · « **Reply #214 on:** February 23, 2011, 04:34:22 AM »

Quote from: Sister Wolf on February 22, 2011, 06:52:20 PM

I just read in the San Francisco chronicle that they don't even have a lawyer. So the whole, "maybe they got bad legal advice" excuse just went out the window. They did this without lawyering up. On their own. No advice.

<shaking my head in disgust>

I posted the atty of record when they filed their claim;

ERIK M. PELTON ERIK M. PELTON & ASSOCIATES, PLLC
PO BOX 100637
ARLINGTON, VA 22210-3637
UNITED STATES
uspto@tm4smallbiz.com

Are they claiming that Mr. Pelton filed the claim now without their knowledge ?

endurance · « **Reply #215 on:** February 23, 2011, 05:13:17 AM »

Quote from: Dawgus on February 23, 2011, 04:17:44 AM

Anyone remember the De®vaes "Ten Elements of Urban Homesteading"?
#10 seems to really stand out for some reason......I just can't figure out why.

"10. Be a good neighbor. Offer a helping hand for free. Urban homesteading is a community-based way of life, not a business opportunity. Be a neighbor, not a business person. "

Maybe that's why they put it at the bottom of the list. It's not all that important to them.

NotAGrasshopper · « **Reply #216 on:** February 23, 2011, 06:28:51 AM »

Um, do they realize that that statement, out of their own mouths, is prima facie evidence against their trademark filing? Someone forward that to EFF. I can't because I'm on my blasted phone.

Nicodemus · « **Reply #217 on:** February 23, 2011, 06:43:48 AM »

Quote from: Dawgus on February 23, 2011, 04:17:44 AM

Anyone remember the De®vaes "Ten Elements of Urban Homesteading"?
#10 seems to really stand out for some reason......I just can't figure out why.

"10. Be a good neighbor. Offer a helping hand for free. Urban homesteading is a community-based way of life, not a business opportunity. Be a neighbor, not a business person. "

Oh that is rich...
"Like a good neighbor Dervaes Institute is there..."

Sister Wolf · « **Reply #218 on:** February 23, 2011, 06:59:09 AM »

Quote from: hanzel on February 23, 2011, 04:34:22 AM

Are they claiming that Mr. Pelton filed the claim now without their knowledge ?

No. They're not claiming anything. Mr. Pelton is not their attorney. He's just the attorney through whom the trademark was filed. He has a somewhat anonymous filing form that anybody can fill out on his site, send him about a thousand bucks, and he'll file the trademark.

Calista · « **Reply #219 on:** February 23, 2011, 10:56:21 AM »

This seems to be a sad and predictable result of someone with a borderline messiah complex believing his own press to the extent of losing touch with reality.

Greedy, hypocritical, arrogant -- well, I'll stop there.

buddha · « **Reply #220 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:31:33 PM »

A good summary of what has transpired can be found here: http://www.agrariana.org/

All pretty sad, really.

Serenity Gulch · « **Reply #221 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:57:50 PM »

I'm on an email list with Mother Earth News. They send me an email with links to free articles a couple of times a week. Here's the subject line of today's email

DIY Skills & Projects: urban homestead projects; tool tips; more

Do you think the Dervaes Institute is going to send a letter to MEN?

Maddog · « **Reply #222 on:** February 23, 2011, 02:35:05 PM »

I noticed today, while syncing my IPod, that The Urban Homestead Podcast has been taken down.

Jules, my the bird of paradise fly up your nose, my an elephant caress you with his toes, my your wife be plagued with runners in her hose........

hanzel · « **Reply #223 on:** February 24, 2011, 05:39:19 AM »

One of my favorite classics

Microsoft Copyrights Binary

http://www.joke-archives.com/microsoft/mscopyrightsbinary.html

REDMOND, WA--In what CEO Bill Gates called "an unfortunate but necessary step to protect our intellectual property from theft and exploitation by competitors," the Microsoft Corporation patented the numbers one and zero Monday.

With the patent, Microsoft's rivals are prohibited from manufacturing or selling products containing zeroes and ones--the mathematical building blocks of all computer languages and programs--unless a royalty fee of 10 cents per digit used is paid to the software giant..........

Roswell · « **Reply #224 on:** February 24, 2011, 08:15:13 AM »

Quote from: Maddog on February 23, 2011, 02:35:05 PM

I noticed today, while syncing my IPod, that The Urban Homestead Podcast has been taken down.

Jules, my the bird of paradise fly up your nose, my an elephant caress you with his toes, my your wife be plagued with runners in her hose........

I listen to that too. Apparently, the guy running it had two podcasts and has now combined them under the other's name, Backwoods Joe... http://www.backwoodsjoe.com/

Cooter Brown · « **Reply #225 on:** February 24, 2011, 01:23:32 PM »

Mother Jones finally has it;

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble

My favorite quote:

"Anyway, the irony of these folks claiming to have invented, and now own, the concept of self-sufficiency is just too blatant even to comment on. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out to my backyard™ where I'm planning to build a chicken coop™ so I can have some eggs™ ."

cdnshooter · « **Reply #226 on:** February 24, 2011, 02:00:35 PM »

I just went out and got the last copy of Kelly Coyne's and Erik Knutzen's "The Urban Homestead" from a local bookstore. The clerk there commented that they had sold several in the past week or so!!

Thanks to Jack and the De®vaes's, I got a great book (funniest book on gardening I have ever read!) that I had not been aware of before!

Cheers,

Ben

Sister Wolf · « **Reply #227 on:** February 24, 2011, 02:27:31 PM »

Quote from: Cooter Brown on February 24, 2011, 01:23:32 PM

Mother Jones finally has it;

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble

My favorite quote:

"Anyway, the irony of these folks claiming to have invented, and now own, the concept of self-sufficiency is just too blatant even to comment on. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out to my backyard™ where I'm planning to build a chicken coop™ so I can have some eggs™ ."

That's awesome!!

archer · « **Reply #228 on:** February 24, 2011, 02:57:39 PM »

Quote from: cdnshooter on February 24, 2011, 02:00:35 PM

I just went out and got the last copy of Kelly Coyne's and Erik Knutzen's "The Urban Homestead" from a local bookstore. The clerk there commented that they had sold several in the past week or so!!

Thanks to Jack and the De®vaes's, I got a great book (funniest book on gardening I have ever read!) that I had not been aware of before!

Cheers,

Ben

I'm enjoying my new copy myself.

Nicodemus · « **Reply #229 on:** February 25, 2011, 06:22:58 PM »

Sorry for the repost, but I just thought it would be amusing to mention once more that the Amazon listing for "The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City" By Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen has knocked the De®vaes Family Singers out of the top spot on Google.

Calista · « **Reply #230 on:** February 25, 2011, 06:37:21 PM »

I guess they're hiding out in silence licking their wounds and plotting a revised strategy, since it appears they ignored the deadline today:

The authors of The Urban Homestead (which is now on backorder on amazon.com) and their publisher, Process Media are now being represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). EFF Intellectual Property Director Corynne McSherry didn't waste any time and issued a cease and desist letter on Monday, with detailed legal precedence and a Friday, February 25th response deadline.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/food-news/

Has anyone heard if one of the $$$D$$$ family members has responded to the EFF letter???

Sister Wolf · « **Reply #231 on:** February 25, 2011, 07:06:30 PM »

No clue. Their last blog update was two days ago and it was about acorn pancakes. Their last Tweet was over a week ago, and they deleted their facebook page.

Looks to me like they're withdrawing into themselves.

Didn't they say something about wanting to move to South America? I wish they'd do that.

Roswell · « **Reply #232 on:** February 25, 2011, 10:18:11 PM »

They put their Facebook page back up today. They changed permissions so you have to "friend" them to see the whole page. I am not their friend so that was as far as I got.

Amator · « **Reply #233 on:** February 25, 2011, 10:19:53 PM »

Quote from: Roswell on February 25, 2011, 10:18:11 PM

They put their Facebook page back up today. They changed permissions so you have to "friend" them to see the whole page. I am not their friend so that was as far as I got.

Somehow I don't think they'll be getting a lot of new friend requests. Well, maybe from people who enjoy the schadenfreude of the situation.

eph2 · « **Reply #234 on:** February 26, 2011, 12:22:32 AM »

Shunning is a powerful tool regardless of legal particulars.

Sister Wolf · « **Reply #235 on:** February 26, 2011, 01:45:02 AM »

I reported their page to Facebook. What they're doing is against FB policy. Their profile doesn't represent a real person. It represents a company, and companies HAVE TO have a fan page. They cannot use personal profiles that require friend requests.

endurance · « **Reply #236 on:** February 26, 2011, 09:01:25 AM »

Quote from: Sister Wolf on February 26, 2011, 01:45:02 AM

I reported their page to Facebook. What they're doing is against FB policy. Their profile doesn't represent a real person. It represents a company, and companies HAVE TO have a fan page. They cannot use personal profiles that require friend requests.

Bwaaa! Love it. Remind me never to get on your bad side, sis!

fritz_monroe · « **Reply #237 on:** February 26, 2011, 10:46:51 AM »

Quote from: Sister Wolf on February 26, 2011, 01:45:02 AM

I reported their page to Facebook. What they're doing is against FB policy. Their profile doesn't represent a real person. It represents a company, and companies HAVE TO have a fan page. They cannot use personal profiles that require friend requests.

Karma's a bitch, isn't it?

The only Dervaes that I see on there now are 2 of the family members.

Mad_Man · « **Reply #238 on:** February 27, 2011, 10:26:37 AM »

I find many lessons in this whole sorry episode.

One thing is the high hubris of "The Family that Shall Not Be Named"®. In hindsight, there were clues such as their refusal to come on TSP, or their desire to market every part of their life or their lack of reaching out to others with real information (unlike Jack). I guess the trademarking of common words is just an extension of this. I am sure a psychologist would say more.

Another thing is the highly negative reaction by the larger community. Part of it is the feeling of betrayel by folks that many of us looked up to. More so is the fact those people are trying to take what belongs to the common good.

Finally is the rallying behind those who the community feel were wronged. People did more than gripe, they acted. Revenge is sweet.

Serenity Gulch · « **Reply #239 on:** March 03, 2011, 11:49:23 AM »

Before you accuse others of trademark infringement you might want to be sure that you're not guilty of plagiarism on your own website.

http://www.myearthgarden.com/2011/03/how-the-dervaes-family-stole-my-victory-garden/

News:

Author Topic: Urban Homesteading trademarked, Dervaes Family gets Death Threats (Read 138528 times)

endurance

endurance