JeffB apparently doesn't like me having KINGSNAKES.COM...

[sychoram]

. Then there ia also the removal of the off topic posts. Then again that would probbably eat up most of your day.

Yup and almost all of the thread

 

[John Albrecht]

Don't forget.

The problem is not just between Jeff and Rich.

The problem with KS is between a very large number of people and Jeff. The problem between Jeff and Rich just happens to be more visible because of the enhanced visibility of their websites.

Even if Rich and Jeff were able to make up and start over that doesn't resolve the intense censorship and arbitrary enforcement of TOS over on KS. There was a huge flap over on KS when they started banning people for criticizing the new format, or has everyone forgotten that? They have on numerous occassions shut down forums because people questioned the fairness of screening posts and classified ads. The list really does go on.

Adam, Rich did not go out of his way to defend you personally from Jeff as it appears you stated. Rich was defending the principle of freedom of speech which you happen to enjoy here. If he had caved in to Jeff regarding your posts then he might have found himself in the same position again later regarding somebody elses posts. Rich would have done for anybody what he did for you out of principle alone.

 

[WebSlave]

Quote from Terry Dunham:

Anyway, if the guys I wished thrown out of my yard, or out of the theatre, then wanted to gather in my friend's yard to badmouth/slander me, I guess I'd consider that neighbor wasn't my friend any more, and I might say, "well, then you're not welcome in my yard any more." Sometimes relationships are broken by what seem like inconsequential first steps that grow more and more out of control, and i think that may be as good an explanation as any other of what happened here. Rich, am i way off base? I certainly don't mean to be.

Well let's look at this from a different perspective, Terry. Suppose those guys were over at your friend's house, got thrown out of there forcibly, and feeling your friend had done them wrong, came over to your house to talk about it. You have an open door policy along with your own rules for being there. Then your friend caught wind of them being over in YOUR house, and called you on the phone DEMANDING that you throw them out too. Or else YOU will no longer be welcome at your friend's house. You didn't have any personal gripes with these guys, and they were obeying the rules of being in your house. So you get placed in a very awkward position. You have to choose between upholding your own house rules for those guests, or siding with your friend based solely on his demand and his side of the argument. Basically he demanded you choose one or the other.

How would that sit with you?

 

[BallKingdom]

I hate to kick a dead horse here, but microsoft is suing a 17 year old web designer from Canada over his domain name. The kid's real name is Mike Rowe, pronounced micro is said fast. So he thought it'd be so cool to name his design company mikerowesoft.com

Microsoft busted a nut and e-mailed him demanding he hand over the domain immediately. The kid said no because of the time he spent on it.

so much time and effort into establishing my name, getting my business cards out and posting my services on the Internet. If I were to give up my domain, I would lose all the time and effort I had put into it.

So microsoft said they'd pay for all out of pocket expenses, 10$... He said 10,000, the wanna sue because they're claiming he bout the domain in hopes of getting cash out of microsoft.

Cehck his site, really funny. While I was reading about it, it stirred my memory back to this thread and I thought it was kinda similiar. A tyrant of a business, kingsnake of the online herp community, and someone innocent about to get screwed.

 

[WebSlave]

Interesting. I left the name of my attorney on his message board. I hired a specialist in this sort of thing.

Microsoft couldn't possibly win even one of the three points needed to be proven in arbitration, much less all of them (which is necessary to prevail).

Mike Rowe should hope it goes to court. He could make some serious money out of this that way. Punitive damages and full attorneys fees can be filed for in a case of abuse of process in situations like this. A good attorney would likely defend him on a contingency basis, knowing it was like money in the bank eventually.

Yes, I have learned a LOT about this stuff in the last couple of months.

 

[Roger Jolly]

Hm, interesting.

But what is going on with this arbitration thing???

I checked back on the status of the trademark application Jeffie has applied for and see this....

(words only): KINGSNAKE.COM

Standard Character claim: No

Current Status: A non-final action has been mailed. This is a letter from the examining attorney requesting additional information and/or making an initial refusal. However, no final determination as to the registrability of the mark has been made.

Date of Status: 2003-12-29

Filing Date: 2003-06-04

Transformed into a National Application: No

If I am reading this correctly, it sounds like to me that the trademark application has initially been refused.

Further....

PROSECUTION HISTORY

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2004-01-07 - Communication received from applicant

2004-01-07 - PAPER RECEIVED

2003-12-29 - Non-final action e-mailed

2003-12-29 - Case file assigned to examining attorney

It looks like the inspecting attorney took one look at the application and immediately tossed it back.

So Jeffie has filed an arbitration claiming a trademark that he really doesn't even have yet??? And maybe never will???

 

[JungleHabitats]

Roger

Thats the exact inormation i had found when this all started .From the laws posted on trademark and whats a "trademarkable" name Kingsnakes itself was a non registerable name as it was a "generic" description. Jeff was hoping to "STRONGarm Rich into giving him the name and hoping it would have worked. And the circumstances he cant say he did and then stopped because of any circumstances surrounding the actions of Rich using the name Kingsnakes as he did because the application was filed prior ... none the less it was a failed attempt to bully what he wanted to himself ... Thanks for the posting of that info Roger its rather amusing to see

 

[WebSlave]

Decision rendered by arbitration panel

 

[JungleHabitats]

Poetic Justice .....

Congrats Rich ....... i figured that would happen once i found that he had applied and the terms of his name were .. welll shallow lol
none the less congrats again glad you didnt buckle to his threats

 

[WebSlave]

You know, funny how things work out. My attorney in this issue turns out to be a fellow gun enthusiast as well as a photography buff. He says that if I need any more help I can pay for his services with guns.... Just so happens that he likes Colt Pythons just as much as I do.

 

[robin d.]

now all ya need to do is get him hooked on corn snakes

 

[WebSlave]

Finding an expert on domain name arbitration, trademarks, AND interested in corn snakes would have been a pretty tall order. Two out of three ain't bad, I guess.

 

[W.Wedeking]

I guess it will be champagne and strawberries in the hottub this month instead of milk and oreo cookies

Congratulations Rich (as if there was any doubt)

 

[Gordon c. Snelling]

Congratulations Rich

 

[WebSlave]

Well, it looks like JeffB was not satisfied with what the arbitration handed him....

 

[Ken Harbart]

And so, Jeff Barringer, in an egomaniacal fit, seeks to further divide the herpetocultural community with his petty foolishness.

Any shred of respect I once had for that self-centered #### is now completely gone.

 

[dwedeking]

Can we say "Counter Suit"? Time to take out those aggressions Rich and get that new SUV!

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

I'm confused. I admit my entire legal education consists of Law & Order re-runs, so maybe this is normal in litigation and I don't know it~

But does page 8 and 9 offer a "Prayer" that Rich will will give Jeff $175 grand??

 

[Sasheena]

I thought one of the conditions of the arbitration was that they abide by the findings of the board of arbitration (or whatevertheheck they are called). I would think that if he made an arbitration board do their thing, then spat in their faces like this, they would not feel very much goodwill towards him.

 

[Sasheena]

Hey Rich, if you still have copies of those adverts for the kingsnakes.com auction could you post them. I would sure love to see how you used the SAME FONT (what were their terms... exactly similar?) as kingsnake.com's font. IF you could post it here that would be enlightening!