I capitalized most words simply because they were keywords and that is my habit. As I said look at the Wikipedia page. Notice how many albums and festivals there are with the title "Homegrown" and how this is in the same industry. Now which lawsuits have occurred in relation to this? It seems to me that there is no precedent for this. In fact quite the opposite. It's a common word.

I like you but they would almost certainly win.

And more importantly...

And...

The Court there announced eight specific elements to measure likelihood of confusion:

1. Strength of the mark
2. Proximity of the goods
3. Similarity of the marks
4. Evidence of actual confusion
5. Marketing channels used
6. Type of goods and the degree of care likely to be exercised by the purchaser
7. Defendant's intent in selecting the mark
8. Likelihood of expansion of the product lines

And even more importantly, trademarks are "use it or lose it" meaning you have to defend them if you want to keep them. You could not really give a shit about a specific person having a similar domain / site / product but you still have to sue them or risk losing your entire trademark.

Cheers

They say if you hit a guy and he turns the other cheek then he is on Jesus' team too. I forgive you for thinking you have a clue. Amen.

The unfortunate thing is you don't know whom we have dealt with or not, when we plan to, and why we put more priority on some over others, knowing all of them are in our crosshairs. But, I cannot blame you for that as it is none of your business... pretty much like this entire thread/issue when you get right down to it.

Ok, this issue is being worked out to everyone's benefit off the board.

Now all you "see them in court" goofballs need to eat some crow. How would you like it? Fried? Half-baked? Or stewing in their own juices?

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Congrats to both winners

I didn't give you the keyword list or the link to the Wikipedia page as a suggestion of who you need to sue. I was pointing out that it's a common dictionary word with plenty of prior use. In addition there are multiple music albums of the same name. That is significant not because they share part of your trademark rather because they all share the same name without conflict or lawsuit. I suggest that might have something to do with the parties involved understanding that it is a common dictionary word and that they have no valid claim against the other companies using the same album name.

Music albums are a collection of works. The branding lies in the band/artists' name, not the collected body of work. Bands can sue over other bands using the same name. A group of kids in my high school (years ago) got a cease & desist from Staind, as they were calling themselves "Stained," before Staind was even popular. Supernova sued the tv show created super-rock band (Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke, Jason Newsted), forcing them to call themselves Rockstar: Supernova.

Festivals I don't know. But, I know that a teenage girl named Lauren McClusky had put on charity concerts (to benefit the Special Olympics) under the festival name "McFest," based on her last name. When she went to protect the name, McDonald's objected, and the two are now engaged in a legal battle. Full story here:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/blog/201...nalds/?icid=ma

lol, ok there Pompous. I bow to your... your... ummmm... pompousness.

What we are doing is not called "bullying". It is called protecting our mark and it is nothing personal so quit with the false accusations and insults, which last time I looked are considered "bullying".

I can forgive you for being clueless, but unfortunately one day you will have to answer for your ignorance to a much higher power... I pray for you to get it figured out before you do something that lands you in hot as hell water. If this thread has been any indication, unfortunately there is little hope for that...

only 2 pages ?:winkwink:

Nothing personal here. I just call it as I see it. Have a good night.

The issue is using "homegrown" in relation to adult content sites. It's an easy win for them.

Just like McDonalds is a really popular name and you see stores all over the place with that name in their title. But you will only see one chain of burger restaurant named McDonalds.

This won't even have to go to court if all they want is the domain, but they will have to pay to go through the domain name dispute process. But if he doesn't give it up they could make his life miserable. (in addition to taking the domain)

Can't believe anyone would even take a chance at trying to fight this.

edit: I'm a bit slow, I see they are getting it straightened out now.

homegrown has great content and a legitimate trademark that would be VERY hard and expensive to beat..... there is a light at the end of the tunnel though, they are REALLY easy to work with and pay pretty good. if you want to use that term, work WITH them, I'm sure you can work something out

Far-L started out in this thread with a winning trademark case. He could have not posted at all

Instead of just smiling, he's decided to verbally abuse a who's who of adult industry, showing everyone what a complete and total asshole he is and why you should never do business with him. So far I've been told of one deal that probably would have made him $40,000 which he just blew by showing his potential associate what a sociopath he is.

Don't drink and post, dude.

I'd like to get involved on that $40k deal if they still need a warm body to attach a title too!

$40,000!!!! no WAY... acting like that probably cost him one billion dollars

in other words you just slammed him with some fake bullshit business that never really existed except in your head trying to get the last laugh when everyone else with a brain totally saw though it and made yourself look a lot dumber.

if you're going to slam him, stick to the facts. It gives you credibility. Saying he lost some imaginary business shows you're the idiot, not Far-L :2 cents:

I was going to offer you $500,000 for YesSignals.com until I saw this post. :321GFY

you might win the case, but you come off like a total douche. you're sites look nothing alike and it doesnt seem he is trying to copy your IP in anyway. Maybe he got 1 keyword from you now you are crying like a baby. you sound like a 2bit shyster trying to collect domain names after he put work into a building it. These are straight bully tactics in my opinion.

thanks ok,
I'm holding out for $500,001.43

here's a thought, if you don't need the term 'homegrown' why use it unless you're pulling a scam?

#2651798 = case closed

everyone chill the fuck out. we have more in common than not.

Can't say that I'm a veteran like them, but with my about 15 years in online adult I never heard a bad thing about homegrown, I completely understand their urge to protect their brand, I'd do the same.

It's a trademark, it's very simple and very hard to argue against. It's a mark only you can use within the area where you "trade" / do business.

I'm gonna register 10 domains with the word homegrown in them and push adult content. Just because i can and am free to do so.

Oh I completely understand wanting to protect their brand. As I said, he was a winner before he even posted. Spouting personal attacks against everyone in the thread, viciously attacking the people who AGREE with him, like me, is what I was responding to.


As I said from my first post, I think he has a reasonably strong trademark claim. (Or service mark). The way he has talked to everyone, I also think he's a sociopath and I'll certainly never do business with him.

Of course, I may read it again in the morning and see it differently. I might apologize for calling him a sociopath. Tonight, though, that seems like the perfect word for someone who publicly attacks industry veterans who post in support of his position.

Boggles my mind reading the posts by the people who take exception to Homegrown trying to protect their trademark. He wasn't the one who initially posted about it on the board after all, he just reacted, whether you like his attitude or not. Do any of you people actually own any URLs, sites, stores, studios, series titles, properties or anything of significance in the adult business that you would care to protect?

see, now that post looks much better then making up fake lost business deals cause you don't like someone. :thumbsup

unfortunately, you dealing or not dealing with Homegrown won't make or break them.....we all have companies we like and don't like... and he's a little secret, MOST people in this biz are sociopath's... the trick is to find the ones YOU can deal with. Personally I've always liked homegrown and thought they were a great company. I also understand why Far-L would get pissed at someone attempting to trade on his name...

response

You have been noticed. It is your option to comply or have the case heard in court. Have a great day!

In all honesty it's probably a good subject for the courts. I think its way off line. Imagine trying to trademark barely legal because you own barely legal video

here's a thought. I actually TRUST companies that get emotional about things like trademark and reputation and don't just handle it totally professionally but go off the handle for a moment. WHY? cause it's personal and a matter of pride in their company and who they are. The good ones come back down to earth quickly, but it shows they are human and actually CARE, when you think about it.

People who are 'all business, all professional image 100% of the time' scare me. I keep thinking they're out to fuck me. Usually they are......

what is your trademark that covers exclusive right to the term "homegrown" in adult ?

Generic? In the adultspace? Dude, if I saw a "Homegrown" food processor I would think..well...Odd Brand extension, but go Far-L. :2 cents:

are you kidding? you might be familiar with them but your in the minority. Have you shot content for them?

what's a "homegrown video" anyway? You can't grow a video. I think the name is pretty stupid, actually.

Maybe this will help clear it up:
Some of that was him responding to people who AGREE with him, who were SUPPORTING him. See why people think he's being an ass?

Do you remember our copyright and trademark issues, when someone infringed our rights? Probably not, because we didn't come in here calling you a pompous, ignorant goofball. We made some phone calls and handled our business like - well, business people.

good talk russ

Haha, amazing how many people are against homegrown on this. Really? Homegrownamateurs people. Pretty damn obvious that it's infringing and they are required to protect it even if they don't want to.

Which is exactly why it's a reasonable trademark / service mark. You can't trademark "homegrown tomatoes", but you you can trademark "Homegrown Video" exactly because videos aren't grown, much less at home. "Homegrown tomatoes" is what they call "merely descriptive". The famous comparison is that you can trademark "Apple Computers" but not "Apple Pie" because Apple's don't have anything to do with computers. "Apple" has meaning in the computer industry ONLY as a brand. "Apple Pie" merely describes the pie.

Homegrown Video would argue that "Homegrown", when applied to porn, is meaningless except as a brand. The OP would argue that "homegrown" means the same thing as "homemade", so it's merely descriptive of homemade porn. Both would have reasonable arguments, so it would come down to evidence presented about how well known the brand is, etc. It could even be affected by the fact that the judge is a human and if one party was a complete asshat the judge might want to find a way to rule against them. It's happened more than once.

It's pretty easy to throw out any talk on a message board in a court. But none the less... interesting reading.

Here is my stance... homegrown (original) should offer homegrown (trademark infringer) a sweet ass revshare deal to promote homegrown. Make sense?

I have no doubt you own the trademark, but I am a little surprised you got it. That's as vague as someone owning the trademark "homemade" or "uploaded content."

I support HomeGrown in this case as I think its a pretty obvious one.

But god damn FarL get off the board already lol

The only thing I don't understand is why Homegrown didn't reg the domain?

Seems like an oversight on there part.....

there is another trademark for "homegrown" in the entertainment category,
not owned by "homegrown video"
but same category as "homegrown video"

"
Word Mark HOMEGROWN
Goods and Services IC 038. US 100 101 104. G & S: Entertainment, namely, broadcasting of radio shows in the field of gardening; and entertainment services, namely, audio streaming and electronic transmission of entertainment media content in the field of gardening. FIRST USE: 20011001. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20011001
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment, namely, production of radio shows in the field of gardening; entertainment services, namely, providing a radio program in the field of gardening via a global computer network. FIRST USE: 20011001. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20011001""

By this alone it tells me no one has exclusive right to "homegrown" in the entertainment field. As there are at least 2 companies in the entertainment category with words "homegrown" in it.

i dont know, this might not be an open and shut case

Ok, back from my hockey game; some of the piss and vinegar has been knocked out of me.

To anyone that was offended that I came here to defend against challenges to our trademark, I am deeply sorry. I was posting on this board when a good pissing match was still considered marketing. I know some of you posting here were not around then so you probably don't know how to deal with it. Hopefully you will accept my apology but if not then we certainly can agree to disagree and let bygones be bygones.

Even as unpleasant as this may be, we are completely obligated to staunchly defend our brand. That might make me come off like whatever names I have been called here, but seriously, Stocktrader23 actually read our notice and said it was the nicest he has ever seen - because we do offer reasonable and mutually profitable alternative to anything harsh. We would much rather work with people than have to go after them.

Now, this is a fact: Homegrown Video was literally the first company to distribute authentic homemade sex videos. PERIOD. That name is now literally synonymous with "homemade adult videos" and that is because of the effort we put into making it so. We have a trademark (#2651798) and anyone is welcome to read it, better yet, have an IP attorney take a look and ask his or her opinion.

Simple answer.

Can icymelon afford to take this to court with a high chance of losing?

If he can, go for it, if not settle quickly. IM what has your lawyer advised?

You don't know. And that example simply makes my point, why don't you pull out an example that refers to adult content? The problem is you won't be able to unless it is ours; so, instead of playing your sophist games, why don't you present a balanced context and post our trademark text too? You obviously took the time to try and find that misleading example so why don't you post our mark so folks can really see the difference.

You don't have an axe to grind do you? Nothing from the past that you would like to share? Come on, get it out and you will feel a whole lot better...

Of course it makes great sense which is why we do just that. We would always rather work with people than against them. That is put in very clear black and white language in our Notice of Infringement letter.

On a side note though, talk on a message board is often used in court both for and against people and Judges don't necessarily disregard it, even if it did come from a board called "GFY". In fact, oftentimes it provides very clear motive and intent and can be highly pertinent to consideration of damages. Just saying... and I know there are some on this board that will attest to it from personal experience. :winkwink:

worked out how? Did you offer payment to buy the domain? I'm confused

Clear case of infringement.

Folks need to learn how to use uspto.gov before spewing about a subject they know nothing about.

Edit: if you don't think this is an infringement, try to start a real estate company called RE/MAX Homes and see how far you get with their attorneys.