Specialized Bikes and their not so cool legal team
- Thread starter Christophe Noel
- Start date
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Social media is a very good thing when used by and for the people. Without Twitter, those Arabs with a rebellious voice would have never been heard, and dictators not deposed. That's a grandiose example, but here again, many of Specialized's previous shenanigans were not so instantaneously shared and with such a widespread outpouring of support. This one is going to sting.
Not a biggie to me. I prefer the other S brand.....SALSA!!!!!
keezer37
Explorer
Who's right? Who's wrong? Who knows.
But this is wrong: "Richter says he has a good case to keep the store name, but is capitulating because he can’t afford a legal fight in court."
And this is never fixed.
Advantage deep pockets.
Reminds me of the Hot Wheels toy that looked very much like one of Icon's vehicles. Wonder if they ever went after Mattel?
Advantage deep pockets?
But this is wrong: "Richter says he has a good case to keep the store name, but is capitulating because he can’t afford a legal fight in court."
And this is never fixed.
Advantage deep pockets.
Reminds me of the Hot Wheels toy that looked very much like one of Icon's vehicles. Wonder if they ever went after Mattel?
Advantage deep pockets?
p nut
butter
I prefer the other other S brand-- Surly. Salsa's great, too. Good thing they're sisters.
Utah KJ
Free State of Florida
I worked for an audio manufacturer for years named 'JL Audio'. In many aspects, a David amongst Goliaths of completion which had large OEM sources of income and big box accounts. JL Audio had its name, it's impressive patent portfolio and it's US team of engineers and manufacturing. The company rabidly protected all of its intellectual property.
One day somewhere in The South, a man opened a store and named it 'JL Audio'. So we called the man and the conversation went something like this:
"We're calling to let you know that you can't call your business 'JL Audio' because that is our trademark"
"Well, 'JL' are my initials"
"OK, but 'JL Audio' is our trademark and you can't use it"
"You have a trademark on my initials?"
"No sir, we have a trademark on 'JL Audio' and we're asking you to change the name of your store"
"Well ok, as long as you guys pay for my new sign, business cards and shirts for my staff"
"No sir, we won't do that, this is a courtesy phone call asking that you change it before we sue you"
In short, the man refused, was sued and went out if business before it was even resolved. I have many more examples from my time there including registering all of our product images so eBay would shut down auctions with our images... got a lot if hate emails on that.
Kooler than Mudd.
One day somewhere in The South, a man opened a store and named it 'JL Audio'. So we called the man and the conversation went something like this:
"We're calling to let you know that you can't call your business 'JL Audio' because that is our trademark"
"Well, 'JL' are my initials"
"OK, but 'JL Audio' is our trademark and you can't use it"
"You have a trademark on my initials?"
"No sir, we have a trademark on 'JL Audio' and we're asking you to change the name of your store"
"Well ok, as long as you guys pay for my new sign, business cards and shirts for my staff"
"No sir, we won't do that, this is a courtesy phone call asking that you change it before we sue you"
In short, the man refused, was sued and went out if business before it was even resolved. I have many more examples from my time there including registering all of our product images so eBay would shut down auctions with our images... got a lot if hate emails on that.
Kooler than Mudd.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Fuji and Specialized have had their own battles with the use of the word Roubaix and the design of the Epic suspension.
Last edited:
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
Nissan Motor Compnay isn't any better... suing Mr. Uzi Nissan for using Nissan.com, a company name he was using long before Dastsun started using the Nissan naming... read more here:
http://www.digest.com/Big_Story.php
Uzi still controls nissan.com to this day
http://www.digest.com/Big_Story.php
Uzi still controls nissan.com to this day
Overthetop
New member
It's funny I would come across this thread. I have a Trademark's law school exam tomorrow and have spent 20+ hours the past couple days studying the rules governing these types of situations. Like or not, Specialized doesn't really have a choice under US trademark law and under NAFTA. If they don't enforce registered trademarks, they run the risk that they could lose their rights to the registered mark. Any company worth their salt will vigorously police the use of their marks. They have to because the law compels them to do it. The law simply doesn't allow them to make any exceptions. I can guarantee you that every famous brand out there is enforced like this. Try using a mark like Toyota, Dodge, Cummins, Toyo, Coke, Pepsi, Exxon, Nike, Adidas, etc in conjunction with the sale of similar products, and you will get the same treatment.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Here's an interesting quote:
Attorney Charles Pelkey on Redkiteprayer said: "The US Patent and Trademark Office appears to be annoyed at [bullying] behaviour. In its 2011 report to the Joint Judiciary Committee of Congress on the subject, the agency defines 'trademark bullying' as 'The extent to which small businesses may be harmed by litigation tactics, the purpose of which is to enforce trademark rights beyond a reasonable interpretation of the scope of the rights granted to the trademark owner.'"
The "scope of the trademark" is the question here. Specialized has rights to the word "Roubaix," which is preposterous given it's a thousand year old town, but only as it relates to bike frames, bike forks, and a few other ancillary bicycle PRODUCTS. They don't get to lord over the name as it's still WIDELY used all over the US for a dozen races, not to mention one of the oldest races in the world, the Paris-Roubaix.
They also have the ability to license the name to Cafe Roubaix for a buck if they wanted to and still honor their silly trademark.
At the root of it, Specialized is just being Specialized....again.
Attorney Charles Pelkey on Redkiteprayer said: "The US Patent and Trademark Office appears to be annoyed at [bullying] behaviour. In its 2011 report to the Joint Judiciary Committee of Congress on the subject, the agency defines 'trademark bullying' as 'The extent to which small businesses may be harmed by litigation tactics, the purpose of which is to enforce trademark rights beyond a reasonable interpretation of the scope of the rights granted to the trademark owner.'"
The "scope of the trademark" is the question here. Specialized has rights to the word "Roubaix," which is preposterous given it's a thousand year old town, but only as it relates to bike frames, bike forks, and a few other ancillary bicycle PRODUCTS. They don't get to lord over the name as it's still WIDELY used all over the US for a dozen races, not to mention one of the oldest races in the world, the Paris-Roubaix.
They also have the ability to license the name to Cafe Roubaix for a buck if they wanted to and still honor their silly trademark.
At the root of it, Specialized is just being Specialized....again.
southpier
Expedition Leader
this was a point I attempted to make in another thread about doing work for pay on other peoples vehicles. might be your best friend, but if there's a problem, his insurance company is obligated to recoup damages regardless of the individual's desire not to do so.
1leglance
2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
If Specialized charged him $1 a yr for use of the name and then did a newstory about how they wanted to help a Vet while protecting their name the normal media, social media and public at large would have been lining up to say how great a company they are.
There are ways to protect your mark "low fee license" and look good, and ways to protect your mark "ugly lawsuit".....I guess we can see which direction they took.
There are ways to protect your mark "low fee license" and look good, and ways to protect your mark "ugly lawsuit".....I guess we can see which direction they took.
Similar threads
