

| Subject: | Re: vw lawyers {little actual content} |
| From: | Per Lindgren |
| Date: | Thu, 25 Feb 1999 15:20:27 +0100 |
As written in the text: "Traya now hopes to exchange the name for something "useful'' -- such as computers for his school." Maybe David can get a deal vith VW to get y'all some SA Caravelles to N.America? Hehe, just kidding. Almost Friday PerL "Paul B." wrote: > Here is a story about a similar situation with the name appleimac.com. This > article was obtained from > > http://macweek.zdnet.com/1999/02/21/domainfeud.html > > It will be interesting to see the outcome of this case since it is relevant > to the volkswagen.org/net issue. My guess is Apple will back down due to > the bad publicity. > > In fact, I think publicity is the one tactic you can use against the VW > lawyers. I am sure VW would not like it "leaked" to the general press the > heavy-handed tactics VW is using against an innocent advocate of the > product. > > Best of luck, > > Paul > > ------------------------ > Teen seeks 'deal' with Apple > By Reuters, ZDNN > > A Canadian high school student has found himself in a David-and-Goliath > struggle with Apple over his ownership of the domain name appleimac.com. > > Apple claims the site's name infringes on its trademark for its popular new > computer, the iMac. But instead of buckling under the pressure to hand over > his domain name, 16-year-old Calgary student Abdul Traya wants to make a > deal. > > "I want to give it to them [Apple]. But first, I'm looking for a lawyer,'' > Traya told Reuters in an interview. > > "I'm starting to understand why they want it,'' Traya said, adding he wasn't > looking for trouble when he registered the name for $150 just after Apple > announced its new, translucent all-in-one computer. > > Last week, the teenager was sent a stern letter through Apple's U.S. law > firm, Fenwick & West LLP, demanding he relinquish the domain name registered > to the Web site business Traya Net Inc. > > Traya's business hosts about 130 Web sites on two servers, which are located > in the basement of his parent's Calgary home. "We just wanted to draw people > to the site, to test it out,'' he said. > > Apple isn't taking it lightly. In its letter to Traya, the company says he > committed an act of "blatant cyberpiracy.'' > > "Obviously, Traya Net obtained the domain hoping to trade off the tremendous > goodwill represented by Apple's company name and its Apple and iMac > trademarks,'' the letter stated. The law firm also requested the 11th-grade > student simply transfer the domain name to Apple by signing an agreement > they enclosed. He was to get it notarized and send it back to California. > > Apple's lawyers were not immediately available for comment. > > Traya says he's been inundated with encouraging calls and e-mails from > supporters who've urged him to use whatever leverage he has. "I think I'm > only 16 and they're so large ... people are saying that it wouldn't look > good for them to take me to court.'' > > Traya now hopes to exchange the name for something "useful'' -- such as > computers for his school. > > He said the experience hasn't been all bad. In the week since he received > the letter, he's had about a half-million visitors to his site -- compared > with only 200 visitors since it was posted.
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