| 022000: AutoDesk pulls an "eToys" Before the etoy incident it was widely believed that any major corporation, with the time and money to dispose of in legal fees, could easily win a case of trademark infrigment, dillution or unfair competition against a smaller company, group or individual. In fact, these types of suits have become so common that those three words can be found in almost every suit where a domain name is in question. It seems as though the egos of these huge companies have become so inflated that they believe every instance where a name, domain or image that resembles their own is an attempt to dillute their corporate identity. Coupled with that is the paranoia that the people who own these names are cyber-sqautters or profiteers. Imagine if every person in the world had to have a unique name. Would we be suing each other's parents because they gave someone a name we would have liked to have? Or because all the "cool" names were taken? Look in any phone book under the business listings by name and you can easily find several DIFFERENT companies with the same or SIMILAR name, and yet they manage to co-exist without filing lawsuits like pouty big kid whose little brother got a toy he wanted. Now something is different. Some companies, like AutoDesk for example, have realized the enormous potential of the online community. We are no longer just a marketing audience- we have become judge, jury and in some cases, executioner of all things "e." Regardless of what a real-world judge orders, or what actions real-world lawyers take, WE make the ultimate choice. WE decide what is ethical in our world. WE decide when a company pushes too far. And WE are the ones who can decide a company's fate in a matter of weeks. How long did it take for outside pressure to drop the eToys share value [still worth less than 25% of its value before the lawsuit] like a hot rock? Some companies have paid attention to what actions they take in our world. Others need to learn the hard way. AutoDesk tried to pull an "eToys" and their actions bit them in the ass. What they recieved was only a fraction of what eToys recieved, but it was enough to learn from. So we all wait to see who is next. What cry-baby company that can't deal with the fact other people and companies exist will be the next to fall victim to domain greed? Will the other companies learn? Maybe, but those bully companies out there who think their names are what make their identity are wrong- its their actions. Something must also be said about cyber-squatters and profiteers. Ever just type a URL in to see where it goes? Ever com up with a page that says "Buy this domain name" and then lists 20-200 more also for sale? That, my friends, is a prime example. To all of you who do that, to all of you who make a living selling squatted domains, you suck. Every last one of you. It's bad enough to have companies suing smaller, geniune groups over name issues without you causing the courts to think and re-think how to regulate domain names. machyne TRN trnetwork.tripod.com top |
| 121999: poem short story summing the whole case and (then) predicted outcome shop, ship flip flop order suits and never stop toystore toywar bought the judge behind closed doors greed need stock is a'fallin' lenk, hitler, mussolini, stalin share where? fair share? securities fraud! on etoy.SHARES stocks dip jump ship sell those shares and take a trip giant falls toys and dolls handcuffed CEOs in prison halls perjury lies bribes shame eToys falls, cries- framed! machyne top |
| 121999: original letter to Toby Lenk, CEO eToys.com Dear Mr. Lenk, I hope this reaches you and is read before it ends up in your trash file. Let me state, for the record, that the following letter is my opinion. I am sure you receive (and will continue to as long as your company pursues this ridiculous lawsuit) letters like this on a daily basis. That being as it may, I have to write and voice my stand on it as well. I, like many others, am a fan of etoy. I am also among those few (thousand? million?) who believe the Internet should be able to survive as a peaceful cooperative where individuals and companies are equals, and WITHOUT government intervention. Where someone can put the word "fucking" on a page and not be sued. Where a group of artists can create an art/media project called etoy.SHARES and not be accused of securities fraud. Where companies like eToys.com aren't greedy. You, or if you prefer- your lawyers, are taking all of that away. I don't think you understand just how far actions like your lawsuit against etoy are going to reach. Consider... By starting this lawsuit, you have dragged the courts (and taxpayers- thanx bud) into a legal battle over what amounts to your company not being able to handle the fact that SOMEONE ELSE might have a similar name (before you, i might add) and that the only reason that Grandfather filed a complaint in the first place is because he wasn't clued in enough to put the "s" in the URL. You're not looking out for innocent people, you're after the name. You're a corporate entity, the only people you care about are you, yourself and maybe your shareholders. Don't bother pointing out the Christmas toy donation thing, I'd do the exact same thing with all of my old, leftover, not-selling-because-it-sucks stock, too, if I could get a tax break on it. You want to show you REALLY care about kids, donate it and DO NOT take a tax break. OK, I've strayed. Back to the topic. We were on "courts?" OK, so yeah, you're bringing the government into it. Enough big companies pull acts like this and we ALL pay the price. The govt. will feel it HAS to become involved in regulations, and hey, since we're regulating the Net's use, let's tax it too! We can start charging .33 for email as well! Laugh. Chalk it up to paranoia. You know this as well as I do, Toby. Damned be all if we can have free speech. Would you sue Toys R Us if they were etoysrus? No. Because YOU would be more likely to claim the domain etoysru.com (no "s" - a nice play on irony, eh?) for yourself, and then sue Toys R Us for having a similar name. But you'd wait a few years first, build a strong (although not lately, sorry your stock is dropping Toby) monetary foundation and then strike, knowing you can outspend them in court by filing silly charges. How come you're not suing clublove.com? I'm SURE the "f" word is on their site. Oh, that's right- it's not a domain name YOU want and they have nothing your CUSTOMERS would want. But wait, etoy doesn't have your customers' interests in mind either. hmmmm... Your suit is full of contradictions and laughable arguments. e.g.- your lawyers don't mind if etoy operates under a country specific domain, yet you want to go global and retain YOUR .com status. You claim etoy had posted pornographic material? Since when does the word (typed exactly as I saw it, minus quotes) "f***ing" constitute pornography? "Unfair competition?" etoy doesn't sell anything, hardly unfair! I'll point out that you have no shared audience while I'm at it. Are your shareholders happy with your decision? How about your customers? Think they don't know? I'm sure they're going to. Do you have any idea what kind of firestorm of eToys hate sites and anti-eToys sites have sprung up over this? Know how many list info you'd probably rather they didn't have? It's all a matter of public record, so why not, right? How many are going to start contacting TV and newspapers because you and your lawyers refuse to see reason? How many future shareholders are you going to lose because you're bent on destroying this group? How much further are your stocks going to have to fall from negative, boycott eToys publicity before you get it through your head that etoy should be left alone? You look like a bully. A big, pathetic bully that beats smaller kids up for their lunch money. And it's not even on the playground, you do it in the hall when nobody is watching. Someone has to tell on you. Might as well be us. Thank You for your time, Randy Kruzan top |