Re: What do I do?

---------

Martin Leese - OMG (mleese@omg.unb.ca)
Thu, 15 May 97 10:29:39 ADT


"Rev. Mama Lani" <lani@lava.net> wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, 14 May 1997, Vince Cheng wrote:
>> >I keep the Mountain Biking FAQ and I have found a commercial site at
>> >http://www.bike-link.com that is using my FAQ without telling me or
>> >giving me any credits.
>>
>> First of all, check carefully to see what legalese you have written into
>> the FAQ. Granted, the assumption is that it's all copyrighted, but if it's
>> written explicitly you have stronger grounds for a lawsuit.

I am not a lawyer, but my understanding is that this would be a civil
action for money. Vince would need to prove a financial loss - tricky.
Also, when you get into lawsuits the rule is that the big guy wins.
They could just delay things and force Vince to spend more and more
money until he simply couldn't afford to pursue it any longer.

>> I would hire a lawyer for cheap bucks ($100? I'm not a lawyer) to write a
>> cease-and-desist letter. Send the letter registered with a return notice
>> request. There ain't nothin' like a letter from an attorney to get them to
>> shape up right away.

This is excellent advice. We have been on the receiving end of one
of these and I can confirm that we shaped up pretty damn fast. (A
Graduate Student designed a game on our WWW server based on "Name that
Tune". The name is a registered trademark and the format of the game
is copyright.)

Regards,
Martin
E-mail: mleese@omg.unb.ca
WWW: http://www.omg.unb.ca/~mleese/
______________________________________________________________________
Want to know how Ambisonics can improve the sound of your LPs and CDs?
Read the Ambisonic Surround Sound FAQ. Version 2.7 now on my WWW page.