The problem with Alan Hyatt

O

ozraves

New member
I received this in an email today.

***

October 21, 2003

Steve Langer
330 W. Gray, Suite #320
Norman, OK 73069

Re: Unauthorized use of PMI Audio Group's
Trademarks and Trade dress
Our File No. 201-216

Dear Mr. Langer:

We are contacting you on behalf of our client AMH Sales, Inc. d.b.a. PMI Audio Group of Torrance, California who previously requested your voluntary cooperation in discontinuing all further Banner advertising of TFPro audio equipment on the mojopie.com web site.

In the above regard, PMI Audio Group is the owner of the common law trademarks for "Joemeek", "Ted Fletcher", "Current Sense", "the Ted Fletcher signature" and numerous other trademarks relating to the TFPro audio equipment some of which are now referenced in the subject Banner ads. Additionally, our client is the owner of the dress rights in connection with the overall arrangement, description and appearance of the various front panels currently used for the TFPro optical compressor line.

The Banner advertising which references the TFPro mark, the Ted Fletcher signature and trade dress in question is without our client's authorization or sanction. Such unauthorized use in your Banner advertising is an infringement of PMI Audio Group's common trademark and trade dress rights under Section 1125(a) of the Lanham Act as well as the common law of California.

We therefore demand an immediate discontinuance of any and all Banner advertising on your web site referencing the infringing products in question. We expect a written confirmation of this discontinuance on or before October 29, 2003.

We solicit your voluntary cooperation in this matter. However, failing to hear from you will be regarded as an admission of wrongdoing and an appropriate civil remedy will be initiated.

Very truly yours,


Edouard V. Rosa
LAW OFFICES OF EDOUARD V. ROSA
5304 Derry Avenue, Suite S
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Tel: 818-735-0590
Fax: 818-735-0594

cc: PMI Audio Group
 
This only helps enforce my desire to never buy gear distributed by PMI. I will leave it at that. Nice post Steve, sorry to hear it.
 
ozraves said:


We solicit your voluntary cooperation in this matter. However, failing to hear from you will be regarded as an admission of wrongdoing and an appropriate civil remedy will be initiated.

Very truly yours,


Edouard V. Rosa
LAW OFFICES OF EDOUARD V. ROSA
5304 Derry Avenue, Suite S
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Tel: 818-735-0590
Fax: 818-735-0594

cc: PMI Audio Group
Click to expand...


Hey Steve,

I always read your posts with interest. And I am a frequent visitor to Mojo Pie and Studio Forums under the name T Payton.

So he let the dogs loose on you.

Funny how this suddenly came up after you said a few favorable words about Ted Fletcher's new compressor on this BBS.

I enjoy having manufacturers and industry insiders on these boards.

And, I used to think that Chessrock, DJL & company were unreasonably hard on A. Hyatt.

That viewpoint has changed.

Threre's business and there's personal. The timing of this one looks personal.

I can get stuff from other companies that perform the same functions as the SP stuff. And I will.




Tom
 
chessparov said:
Oz, there isn't a personal element against YOU
IMO.
Please check your PM box.

Chris
Click to expand...

Chris--

No offense but this touches on the First Amendment.

--Steve
 
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i usually try to avoid these sorts of things

but it should be interesting to see where this goes.
So what are you gonna do Steve? Clocks ticking
 
Well, I'll tell you what I'll do. I will contact the liquidator again to see what it is that Alan bought since Alan refuses to document anything.

I'll also seek the advice of some incredible lawyers. As some of you know even though I don't advertise it, I am a lawyer. I was recently nominated to be a judge here in Oklahoma at the age of 39. So, I'll get great counsel.

Anyhow, if they advise me to change it, then the ads will be changed. I won't question it and it'll be immediate.
 
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Can't you put up some sort of disclaimer on your web site that Mojo "is not responsible for the claims of it's advertisers" or something like that?

The only way a network could be held responsible for the conduct of an advertiser is if that ad contained graphic nudity or offensive content or something, right?

This -- just like any other Hyatt antic -- is obviously aimed at drawing attention to himself; the 'old "no such thing as bad publicity" routine. :rolleyes:
 
It's not like your publishing an interview with him discussing his first time having sex in the outhouse with his mother...


Might be a good idea though...
Larry Flynt seems to have done well for himself after all that, albeit his nemisis was a bit more... Well, at least interesting...
 
That's just silly.
1. The ad is for Edward the Compressor, which has a design that is NOT owned by Alan, so the claims that the compressor design is owned by PMI audio is wrong.

2. The ad does not use the word joemeek, nor is Ted Fletchers signature visible anywhere. Yes, I know that the blob in the right hand corner probably is his signature, but I dare anybody to prove it! :)

That TFPro breaks copyright with reusing designs owned by PMI audio, and that TFPro breaks trademark by using Ted Fletchers signature, that's fine. Sure them for this. And fine, sue everybody who tries to sell TFPro stuff by using the joemeek trademark.

But none of this is done on mojopie. Alan should call his lawyer and get this thing dropped now, becuase it's wrong, immoral and stupid.
 
just wanted to say...

I can see where alan is coming from because I was(and still am) confused with all these similiar products coming from different companies. For awhile, I really thought Ed compressor was PMI's new or dif version of the meek line. If I had bought the product while thinking I would get the service from PMI, I would be really pissed to find out PMI isn't gonna help me if I had a problem. So, I think alan is doing his job to clear this up for his and our good.

just my 2 cents


Al
 
Yea, A1, but how do you feel about him going after the medias that TFPro is purchasing ad space on? What do they have to do with any of this?

That's what this is about.

What's he going to do next, sue the people who buy TFPro, just for owning it? :D How about their Stockboy's dog's veterenarian while we're at it? I can see it now: You must stop treating this dog for his heartworm condition due to the fact that we at PMI own the pattent on the Ted Fletcher name, which we understand is being used by this dog's owner's employer.
 
ozraves said:
Chris--

No offense but this touches on the First Amendment.

--Steve
Click to expand...

Touches on the First Amendment??? It treads all over it! :mad:

Not to state the obvious but, Intellectual Property and Trade Marks are big business (i.e., they make a lot of money) and corporations will do anything (including try and rewrite the constitution) to protect their cash cows.

Steve - Hopefully there is a disclaimer clause in your advertising contracts.... might provide shelter. This type of fight is not good for anyone as I'm sure you already now...no one wins in a lawsuit. Especially since no one should have to endure the expense of defending one's freedoms. I wish you the best!!!

Thanks,
Bill
 
chess,
well, I guess this is a difficult one...as long as I "see" those meek-looking red boxes online or in print, I will always guess they are products of PMI if I wasn't informed well enough, and that's a problem. It's like that company that used www.yahooo.com<<3 O's as their domain name. But, yeah, going after innocent people, who simply display the ads they are given, is a little harsh.
Like I said, it's a tough one.


**insterestingly, after I posted this, I clicked on that link, it actually takes me to yahoo. Appearently they sued that someone for using yahooo and managed to use it now

Al
 
Keep us updated!

Would like to see how this thing plays out!





FIGHT THE POWERS THAT BE!!! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!
 
I'm sorry, but honestly, what is so "meek-looking" about the Edward? The typical look (what I think the lawyers are calling "dress rights") is that they are green, have a dead ugly joemeek logo that looks like something a kid created with rub-on lettering, and are just in general look "homemade".

The joemeek look is "We don't put any money on looks, only on sound, and we are green".

The Edward is not green. The TFPro logo looks like something an artdirector has come up with. The same goes for that P8 mark on the right, which fits with the TFPro website, and obviously is the idea of somebody that are in charge of designing the stuff. The Edward does NOT look like "we don't care about how the boxes look". I can not in my wildest imagination see how anybody, from looks alone, could think that the Edward is made by PMI Audio. The only similarities are in fact that the VU meters are square, and the buttons are the same. Don't tell me that it's just because of the buttons, because I don't believe it.

By the way, from the looks of the new designs on PMI Audios homepages, they are TOO dropping that "We don't care about looks"-look, including getting all new, cool round VU meters (I do think the new designs look awesome, this is not a critisism, I'm just noting that it's changing). So PMI audio are not going to keep that part of the joemeek "trade dress", either, so why fight about it? It's just silly.

Old joemeek boxes are butt ugly. The new ones aren't, and neither are TFPros. The confusion on the market are created solely by TFPro first making green boxes, and their distributors now selling TFPro stuff under the joemeek trademark, which they shouldn't.

Ozraves have done none of this and should therefore not get any stupid letters from lawyers trying to sue him.
 
The First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see anything in there about accepting advertising from a company that may be guilty of trademark infringement, although I'm sure there is case law to support both sides. IMO, your freedom of the press is not being trampled. You are still free to write editorial or news content on your site. You might also want to address the clear conflict of interest in accepting advcertising dollars from a company and then reviewing their gear. In regards to Alan's claims about ownership of trademarks, he doesn't have to show any of us anything. If you sue, maybe you can make that part of the discovery process.

Maybe we can move this to the cave where it belongs.

I will now stand back and accept the inevitable flames.
 
Well, unlike the suits involved (I mean the guys in suits), I'm *not* a lawyer. I think Ozrave's approach is the correct one. Seek good legal council and be guided by it. I really don't have the knowledge base or the credentials to know whether Ted Fletcher's current advertising or products represent an infringement on design and trademark rights sold to Alan. Only some very high powered lawyers are qualified to figure that out. I also don't claim to know whether anything published on Mojopie represents such an infringement.
My gut level impression is that in the end, Alan will fail to prevent Ted Fletcher from producing and promoting audio gear that may or may not have something in common with past or projected Joemeek gear. Ultimately, it may really require a judge to evaluate the conflicting claims in terms of the law and judicial precedent. I also think that regardless of what documents have been signed, Alan will fail to prevent Ted Fletcher from using his own name on audio products. What about "the designer formerly known as Ted Fletcher"?
I guess we'll see how this plays out. Such legal machinations
take on a life of their own, and it will have *no* effect on my future purchases. I will buy the best product for my purposes that I can afford, whether it be made by Joemeek, TFPro, or the devil himself. On the other hand, it's also my impression that whether Alan has the legal right to do this or not, it is a bad PR move, and will hurt his market share far more than ignoring Ted's efforts to market recording gear of whatever type under whatever brand.-Richie
 
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