So I received a cease and desist notice in the mail yesterday from Wyeth Consumer Healthcare demanding that I immediately discontinue the use of their intellectual property in a slanderous and unauthorized manner. A little disconcerting, sure, seeing as how I've never heard of this company nor am I sure how I could possibly be stepping on any toes. But, these days all it takes is a little Google to find out that they're some kind of drug company; probably the kind whose slogan is "we keep you alive" or "you'd poop your pants without us". And they make half the things in your bathroom despite the fact you've never caught a whisper of their existence. Anyway, it turns out that they're the makers of Advil and Robitussin, the latter some of you may realize from an online drug identifier is marked with an "AHR 8602" on a translucent yellow pill. Yep, its the placebo, and apparently they've taken issue with my use of it for this purpose.Whatever, I'm sure lots of people have taken issue with this site, and I'm not about to start sweating it now. Fact is I don't make any cash off of this site so I should be well covered by some typa fair use or education clause. Second off, this isn't be a trademark issue because I can't imagine an "idiot in a hurry" alive who'd see this site, look up the pill code, wikipedia Robitussin and then assume I'm affiliated with a massive pharmaceutical manufacturer. So suck it, Roy Guilroy Esq; yeah I know you're a DP reader, how else would you know I'm using Robitussin in an "unauthorized and slanderous" manner? Bam; dealt with. I'm not going to court and I'm not redesigning a logo. This legal stuff is easy, maybe I should hang up a shingle. I hear roofing is more challenging.
2 comments:
Before you hang your shingle out there, chief, perhaps you should re assess what the threat in the letter from the lawyer is actually about. Slander and Liable (more likely in this particular instance) is a tort separate a distinct from copyright or trademark infringement. Actual damages for injury suffered as a result of the defamatory and untrue statements are compensable through a civil court case and an injunction may be entered in a court of competent jurisdiction to stop further untrue statements from being published. I suppose that Wyeth's argument is that you've put a picture of their pill next to a huge banner that suggests that it is a Daily Placebo (and doesn't actually work). Now in order to win Wyeth is going to have to convince the Judge that the folks who read the DP are stupid enough to confuse the name of the Blog with a claim about the effectiveness of the medication... Which should be an uphill battle for Wyeth. However, if you want a good rollick with ol' Roy Guilroy, Esq. you should reply and ask him for legal authority for asserting copyright, trademarks, and ask him how he intends to prove a liable claim in court. In fact keep writing him many letters... clients love it when their lawyers keep sending them bills for responding to trivial matters which don't justify the lawyer's bills - Or you could photo shop out the AHR on the pills...
First off, what're you trying to start a bar fight? The direct address "chief" was invented solely for such a purpose and has no other use in western culture.
Second, I don't have any inclination to provoke a confrontation or cheeze a random person off as you obviously do (aside from the odd sideways blog commentary) most especially when that person happens to be a figment of my imagination.
So while my roofing pun may have gone by the wayside, let me reassure everyone that I'll not be extending any effort into wasting senor Guilroy's time as I currently have enough exercises in futility attached to my daily routine.
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