An interesting post is on my guild's messageboard at
http://pub97.ezboard.com/fredtapefrm...picID=22.topic
I can use your thoughts on this situation.
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Talbott Farley
Posted: 4/15/02 9:46:13 am
Hi,
I was reminiscing when I was shocked to find your "little" group had stolen my faction name.....
Kinda funny actually, since we (the old RT) have been "dead" about as long as your little group has been "alive".
I don't play AO anyways.....oh well.
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Talbott Farley
Posted: 4/23/02 3:26:29 pm
I think you should pay me a royalty fee for using my faction name.....How about $1.00 for every time anyone logs into AO, or visits your website....
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Charles Houston
Posted: 4/23/02 3:55:03 pm
I was saying that Red Tape's name was thought up when 6 crats formed the guild and Red Tape = bureaucracy. The name sounded good and we used it. Sides, we've fared very well on AO and made a small name for ourselves.
Charles "Kithrak" Houston ,
President of Red Tape
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Talbott Farley
Posted: 4/25/02 9:44:13 am
I founded Red Tape all by myself on Sept 22, 2000......before the game was on the shelves, or even in final beta!
playervault.ign.com/guilds/members.asp?gid=4191
Here was my member list, and my faction was listed on the main AO page.
As evidence, I provide a snapshot of this page served up directly from the "Wayback Machine" website. The "Wayback Machine" stores webpages (sans graphics) for posterity from nearly the entire internet!
web.archive.org/web/20001212050200/www.anarchyonline.com/community/clans/index.html
You'll see Red Tape listed in this snapshot from December 6, 2000.........
In fact, for being listed on AO's website, I was supposed to get accepted into the final beta test. They never returned by email correspondence......
So, as an infringement of my copyright, I want damages for unpaid royalties and/or a complete abandonment of the Red Tape faction name......
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alysanda007
Posted: 4/25/02 1:29:23 pm
I'd like to see your copyright documentation.
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Talbott Farley
Posted: 4/25/02 4:00:59 pm
From the U.S. Code Collection:
www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode
"TITLE 17 > CHAPTER 1 > Sec. 102.
Sec. 102. - Subject matter of copyright: In general
(a)
Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."
The original work of authorship would be my faction site, it's name (i.e. Red Tape), and all content contained within. Thus, Red Tape (especially when pertaining to the game Anarchy Online) is protected under the copyright laws of the United States. More than likely, had your faction existed within a different game, or maybe even unrelated to the bureaucrat class, I would have had little or no basis for my allegations. But, as you have readily admitted, your group was created with bureaucrats in mind and is part of the Anarchy Online universe.......you are infringing on my COPY-RIGHTS.
Thank you.
Talbott Farley
Council Master and Founder of Red Tape
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Charles Houston
Posted: 4/25/02 11:37:42 pm
I see no problem here.
The guild name was:
A) Abondoned and was marked as unused on the Anarchy Online's Rubi-Ka 1 server. Hence we were able to select that name during the guild creation process.
B) We never saw or heard about your guild and its name before during the creation process. Disproveing your theory that we "copied" anything off you or your website. Guess what? We don't have a website!
C) All things in the game Anarchy Online is the property of Funcom and for the same reason that selling in-game property even for the time to acquire the items is not allowed by the EULA. Thus you are not allowed to sell it to us for a "fee".
D) You are no longer a subscriber to Anarchy Online and have no claim over Funcom's property as a user. In case you still want to sell the items/ideas to us as an active subscriber, see also C.
For example, if you Mr. A "had" a character, an Omni soldier called "John" on Anarchy Online and created a whole website and backstory about him but later quit subscribeing and the name becomes free again.
Should Mr. B try to create the character "John" and the game allowed him to and thus meaning the name was unused. Then lets suppose Mr. B decided to write his own backstory and start a website dedicated to the character "John" on Anarchy Online can you claim copyright infringement?
For arguement sake lets also suppose that Mr. B's "John" is also an Omni soldier. But Mr. B has never seen, heard or met about Mr. A does Mr. A still hold any claim over "John"?
This guild is not in any way shape or form linked to your former creation. There was no contact or influence from you during the entire creation/setup process.
Charles "Kithrak" Houston ,
President of Red Tape
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Talbott Farley
Posted: 4/26/02 1:56:11 pm
I was never IN Anarchy Online to begin with....so your whole Funcom "ownership" idea is nonsense.
The faction name, website and idea are still published on the web, and simply because we have broken up does not mean that I do not still have copyrights.
You are still using the name "Red Tape" for your group.
Let me pose a more valid example to counter your obviously useless one:
Let's say a group of people decide to start a website where people draw pictures of cutesy animal characters. And let's also say that this group comes up with a name for themselves and their website. And let's say that they decide on the name "Disney".....or "Looney Toons". Suppose then that they had no previous knowledge of the fact that these names were already taken. They are still guilty of copyright infringement and should cease using the names.....
Hence, you are using my previously chosen name for a faction in Anarchy Online, and I still have rights to that name until say,my website is removed from the 'net, which it is not!
So it's simple. Change your name or send me some cash.
P.S. My EZBoard ("Red Tape") is still online as well, I can have your BBS shut down with a simple email request.
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Charles Houston
Posted: 4/26/02 2:43:45 pm
You are confuseing a copyright and a trademark. Both the name Disney and Looney Tunes are trademarked and noone else is allowed to use that name. The name Red Tape is not trademarked.
Red Tape is an organization based in Anarchy Online, and as such it is the property of Funcom. If you have a problem I would also suggest you take a look at an in-game item.
antiguardians.org/itemdb.php?cmd=view&id=30135
If you have a problem with our guild name then you have a problem with that item too. It would be prudent of you to contact Funcom about the problem.
Your attempts to gain money from this is absurd and will not get you a cent. Do not make any further attempts to harass us or you will be reported to the appropriate authorities.
Charles "Kithrak" Houston ,
President of Red Tape
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Here's an idea
lol
