ShazamGrrl1, I am a copyright lawyer! - 2005-03-25 8:30 PM
Few on these boards know this, but I am a copyright lawer and have recently been retained by Warner Brothers© to act on behalf of thier graphic publication wing DC Comics©. I have been asked to issue you the following:
From the law firm Pit Pat, Barrows, Webb & Tyler, LLP
Dear ShazamGrrl1:
We are counsel for Warner Brothers, Inc. (DC Comics), the owner of the copyrights and trademarks in the United States and Canada for the Shazam comic book character. We have recently become aware of your electronic message board identity.
The Shazam name and likeness are the copyrighted property of DC Comics. Your unauthorized use of the Shazam name constitutes copyright infringement in violation of 17 U.S.C. 501. Your unauthorized use of the Shazam name also violates the trademark laws, including 15 U.S.C. 1114(1) and 1125(a), by creating a likelihood of confusion with respect to DC authorization or sponsorship of or association with your commercial activities. Additionally, under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. 1125(d), any individual who registers or uses a domain name or message board username that is identical to, confusingly similar to, or dilutive of a distinctive or famous trademark with the bad faith intent to profit from that mark may be subject to civil liability.
On behalf of DC Comics, we therefore demand that you provide us with prompt written assurance that you will dismantle the ShazamGrrl1 username and not publish or distribute any literature referenced above, or any other name using elements of the DC Comic book trademark, in the United States and Canada without DC Comic's permission. Because the ShazamGrrl1 username is of no use to you, it should be transferred to DC Comics. We also demand that you provide us with information concerning the extent of your uses of any elements of the ShazamGrrl1 name, as well as information regarding the distribution of your electronic fan fiction to enable us to assess more precisely the extent of the damage done.
Please provide us with the requested information, as well as your written agreement to cease and desist from further unauthorized uses of the ShazamGrrl1 mark and character elements, as soon as possible and in any event within ten days. This letter does not purport to be a complete statement of the facts or the law and is without prejudice to Warner Brothers' legal and equitable rights.
Take it from me, I LOVE you,
Pit Pat
From the law firm Pit Pat, Barrows, Webb & Tyler, LLP
Dear ShazamGrrl1:
We are counsel for Warner Brothers, Inc. (DC Comics), the owner of the copyrights and trademarks in the United States and Canada for the Shazam comic book character. We have recently become aware of your electronic message board identity.
The Shazam name and likeness are the copyrighted property of DC Comics. Your unauthorized use of the Shazam name constitutes copyright infringement in violation of 17 U.S.C. 501. Your unauthorized use of the Shazam name also violates the trademark laws, including 15 U.S.C. 1114(1) and 1125(a), by creating a likelihood of confusion with respect to DC authorization or sponsorship of or association with your commercial activities. Additionally, under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. 1125(d), any individual who registers or uses a domain name or message board username that is identical to, confusingly similar to, or dilutive of a distinctive or famous trademark with the bad faith intent to profit from that mark may be subject to civil liability.
On behalf of DC Comics, we therefore demand that you provide us with prompt written assurance that you will dismantle the ShazamGrrl1 username and not publish or distribute any literature referenced above, or any other name using elements of the DC Comic book trademark, in the United States and Canada without DC Comic's permission. Because the ShazamGrrl1 username is of no use to you, it should be transferred to DC Comics. We also demand that you provide us with information concerning the extent of your uses of any elements of the ShazamGrrl1 name, as well as information regarding the distribution of your electronic fan fiction to enable us to assess more precisely the extent of the damage done.
Please provide us with the requested information, as well as your written agreement to cease and desist from further unauthorized uses of the ShazamGrrl1 mark and character elements, as soon as possible and in any event within ten days. This letter does not purport to be a complete statement of the facts or the law and is without prejudice to Warner Brothers' legal and equitable rights.
Take it from me, I LOVE you,
Pit Pat
Right, Reax? 
