We just got a Cease and Desist order from Eircom :)

DeVore · 19-08-2002 5:33pm #1

No sh|t, I'm looking at it right now!!

In fact its at http://www.boards.ie/oops.jpg

Well now, I was planning on taking it down tonight, believe it or not to replace it with some of the new ones but I think I'll talk to our lawyers first and see what they think before I snip it...

...I always said Shinji would get us in trouble

DeV.
ps: they are annoyed about: http://www.boards.ie/phpadsnew/adview.php?bannerID=7

Zyox · 19-08-2002 5:39pm

erm, wow.

bit of a surprise that. maybe they have someone working on the inside :eek:

edit: you think maybe mcvities will get onto you for using jaffa-cake type humour? :rolleyes:

Meh · 19-08-2002 5:41pm

Originally posted by Zyox
bit of a surprise that. maybe they have someone working on the inside :eek:

Eh, it's pretty well known that Eircom keep an eye on the IrelandOffline boards.

meglome · 19-08-2002 5:42pm

more likely to do with Shinji's ugly face on it. I was shocked anyhow.

Inspector Gadget · 19-08-2002 5:42pm

...does that mean someone in Eircom's actually reading the boards? :eek: I suppose if you've got nine lawyers you have to keep them busy somehow

Hmm... let's see if Vodaphone's lawyers can get any more creative with their letter, eh?

[edit](I mean, if it's the legal silly season, we can assume they're going to start queueing, aren't they?)[/edit]

Gadget

JustHalf · 19-08-2002 5:50pm

Serious lols there.

cournioni · 19-08-2002 5:51pm

LOL... the buggers. They simply have no sense of humour do they?

zAbbo · 19-08-2002 5:56pm

there goes my chance to get a job in eircom:), seeing as i made the image(rehash of kharns shinji one),

I was wondering what those "unmarked pizza vans" with the large sat`s where doing outside.

So it`s ok for them to camp it up with a rehash of "Queen" but not anyone else.

Strange that they speciafially wanted "break free" removed.

Oh well to the bat cave..................

JustHalf · 19-08-2002 5:56pm

Do you think bubbles grassed you up?

Dustaz · 19-08-2002 5:56pm

LMFAO!!!!!!!!

Aww eircom, not funny?
Try paying by the minute to look at it.

Dev, talk to your lawers. firstly, you might have a case for being able to use it under acceptable parody and number 2, all it needs a minor change and its almost-exactly-but-not-quite-eircoms-logo.

Yer souless lawer will inform ye:)

MindPhuck · 19-08-2002 6:02pm

Urm!!!!!

Shinji · 19-08-2002 6:07pm

19th August 2002

Our Ref: L33T
YORE MA'S Ref: 0MGZ

re: Unauthorised use of Shinji's symbols, insignia and face

Boards.ie Ltd
RegiSaysOops House
Cloud Towers
Dublin 2

Dear Sirs,

It has come to our notice that a website which is credited to your company (www.boards.ie) contains a number of banner advertisements which include the face of Shinji. This is in connection with a social function that is to take place on the 24th of August next. The logos and symbols used on Shinji's face are protected under Copyright law and the law of Very Scary Images and the unauthorised use of same by you infringes my statutory rights and may scare small children.

I hereby call upon you to immediately attend the removal of Shinji's face and catch phrase ("YORE MA!") from your website.

In the absence of such removal, legal proceedings may be issued against you without further notice. Such proceedings will invariably expose you to a stern fisting in respect of legal costs.

Is Mise Le Meas,

Shinji
For and on behalf of:
Shinji.

Inspector Gadget · 19-08-2002 6:09pm

...I especially liked the "Is Mise Le Meas" at the end for that modicum of gravitas...

(Ref: L33T indeed!)

Gadget

daveirl · 19-08-2002 6:12pm

This post has been deleted.

Kraken · 19-08-2002 6:24pm

like ok the logo thing i understand but do they have the phrase brake free licenced as well? change color of logo and tweak it a bit and ur sorted afaik. its entirely understandable reaction though imo.

but i still think its funny.

Stephen · 19-08-2002 6:25pm

This is quality entertainment

Nice to see that eircom have no sense of humour whatsoever.

Moriarty · 19-08-2002 6:28pm

Originally posted by Dustaz
Aww eircom, not funny?
Try paying by the minute to look at it.

Im sure the irony is lost on them :rolleyes:

LMAO though

bombidol · 19-08-2002 6:38pm

a few minor changes are all thats needed, get rid of one of the blue lines or something, and change break free to pay per minute or something

Stephen · 19-08-2002 6:47pm

"pay per minute" really would not make any sense on a boarse beer banner.

flamegrill · 19-08-2002 6:49pm

LOL

zAbbo · 19-08-2002 6:51pm

Ok heres the source file - png (i used fireworks MX)

http://www.pcirl.com/boards/kharns.png

and my slight mod on it:

http://www.pcirl.com/boards/kharns.gif

and a logo for those who can`t take a joke:

http://www.pcirl.com/boards/logo.gif

Mercury_Tilt · 19-08-2002 7:06pm

This post has been deleted.

sceptre · 19-08-2002 7:13pm

"Registered Trademarks"

Aren't they required to display the R in a circle logo to avoid losing their trademark?

Have WorldCom sued them then in an attempt to stay afloat on the grounds that Eircom ripped off their logo?

(suggest logo gets changed to another moving globe type thingie in a way we all still know what it is)

Eircom may have a "catch phrase" in "break free" but they're using a well-known song from which the catch phrase is obviously ripped off/paid for. In this they can go fish.

I think it's funny. And now BazH has posted the source file we can all start doing it.

daveirl · 19-08-2002 7:17pm

This post has been deleted.

jmcc · 19-08-2002 7:23pm

Originally posted by DeVore
No sh|t, I'm looking at it right now!!

In fact its at http://www.boards.ie/oops.jpg

Well now, I was planning on taking it down tonight, believe it or not to replace it with some of the new ones but I think I'll talk to our lawyers first and see what they think before I snip it...[/url]

It is obviously a parody rather than an attempt to muscle in on a trademark. As for the 'catch-phrase', that is a rather dubious claim. There are too many ways in which this could be satirised. I'm sure that there are trademark holders who could apply pressure to Eircom over its claw and ball mark. It seems highly derivative of a number of marks.

As a public relations matter, this is a disaster for Eircom. The individual(s) concerned should be canned immediately as they are are obviously too stupid to think the consequences through. It will only make the dislike of Eircom as a company grow and it will turn many potential customers of Eircom against them.

Regards...jmcc

sceptre · 19-08-2002 7:28pm

Nice change btw Baz - never noticed how the Euro sign could look like a nice spinning globe (in other words, just like the Eircom logo)

Courtroom clash between Brussels and Eircom to follow I suppose.

As a side note I received a nice letter from the ASAI today wrt my complaints about Eircom advertising. They've not addressed all of my points so I suppose I'll have to complain again.

DeVore · 19-08-2002 9:12pm

Well I was going to "F!GHT TEH P0W4!" but Baz's alternative is even better

So thats gone up instead.

Dev.

zAbbo · 19-08-2002 9:26pm

Shinji`s expression has more meaning now, it`s as if he`s saying "Screw u errorcom, and the horse you rode in on."

keep looking.

Is it me or is the banner rotator stuck on bannerID=7

If i had designed the pic as anything other than a parady, then you could understand the legal thing, but this is a total PR disaster,

I`m still at shock over the super stituals that where over imposed during there boards.ie advertising campaign a while back(the annoying drop down flash)

[dev]"F!GHT TEH P0W4!"[dev]

damn right!

regi · 19-08-2002 9:36pm

The irony for me is that the ad was going to come off the rotation on friday since the pissup is the next day

So it can die four days earlier heh

Gordon · 19-08-2002 9:45pm

€rror, is there a com in the house.

Big ****in, freaky, hairy, bobbingly bouncy, jibberishly over self absorbed, egotistical, antieircom-ical, jugular, hug-u-like, rug-u-head, better dead...

LOL!

DeVore · 19-08-2002 9:49pm

Not even friday Regi, I was planning on taking them down over the weekend but I forgot the password

Now I think I'll let that version run for a while

DeV.

Gordon · 19-08-2002 9:56pm

Yeah, keep that ad up but after the night out change it to a -general good vibe picture celebrating the joys of a glorious get together of a community on the internet-

Keep it on for a good month after the event for all to enjoy.

lol

Venom · 19-08-2002 11:22pm

Dev even tho you have changed the offending ad,I would send in a copy of the letter and the parody ad to a paper like the Sun,the Star or even the Herald just to pass some of that old bad publisity back onto Eircom.

The rags's love stories like this about how the little guys is getting stamped on by big companies.

phreak · 19-08-2002 11:26pm

Originally posted by Venom
Dev even tho you have changed the offending ad,I would send in a copy of the letter and the parody ad to a paper like the Sun,the Star or even the Herald just to pass some of that old bad publisity back onto Eircom.

The rags's love stories like this about how the little guys is getting stamped on by big companies.

lol, shinji in the sun. he'll be famous after this is finished.

Shinji · 19-08-2002 11:43pm

Weh !

Thorbar · 19-08-2002 11:49pm

Maybe you should have the banner point to this thread after the boards bash so all can know the story behide it and fully understand the utter stupidity who's charging us "by the minute".

byte · 20-08-2002 12:54am

ROFL at Errorcom site . Tis a laff!

Kraken · 20-08-2002 9:16am

Tis funny all right. new banner is class.

Shiminay · 20-08-2002 10:57am

LOL - can't believe a crappy photoshop job of Shinji I did one afternoon instead of work has resulted in this

plyd

Ruaidhri · 20-08-2002 11:13am

Originally posted by jmcc

It is obviously a parody rather than an attempt to muscle in on a trademark. As for the 'catch-phrase', that is a rather dubious claim.

i was thinking the same thing. would that not be up to Queen?as it is taken from their song...

t'would be funny to see it in the paper though

jaggeh · 20-08-2002 12:18pm

shinji is already famous

Den style

zAbbo · 20-08-2002 2:25pm

This is gotta be in a tabloid, i mean it has all the makings.

1. Boards.ie host the IOFFL Forums - eircom don`t like ioffl(vice versa) Eircom annoyed

2. Eircom take out banner ad with boards Eircom think they have upper hand

3. Eircom overstep banner agreement with usage of drop down flashy ad. Eircom are gits

4. All is quite for a while

5. boards harmless parady ad about drinkies nite Eircom feathers ruffled

6. Eircom cease and desist letter 5 dollah variety:p, major PR disaster for Eircom

7. banner changed to be more patronising than parodistic balls in eircom court

CuLT · 20-08-2002 4:30pm

lolz, i roccomend changing "break free" to "br3ak free" and the errorcom logo to have curved inner spikes as opposed to pointy ones.

That may be just enuff of a change, but not too much

.

JustHalf · 20-08-2002 5:09pm

UNLEASH THE BUBBLES!

sceptre · 20-08-2002 7:41pm

Originally posted by Venom
Dev even tho you have changed the offending ad,I would send in a copy of the letter and the parody ad to a paper like the Sun,the Star or even the Herald just to pass some of that old bad publisity back onto Eircom.

The rags's love stories like this about how the little guys is getting stamped on by big companies.

... especially when it's mentioned that boards.ie hosts "the forums for IrelandOffline, a not-for-profit organisation campaigning for afforable unmetered and broadband internet access in Ireland" = not particularly liked by Eircom.

Bard · 20-08-2002 9:54pm

As a matter of interest, the IrelandOFFLine web site was knocked out TWICE in it's time by DoS attacks. This was when the site was being hosted (unbeknownst to them) by my former employees, Cyrona Software Ltd. (who since closed down during the dot.com dot.bomb...).

Now the origin of these DoS attacks WAS traced. It came from a very familiar looking address - familiar in that there aren't too many places in Ireland you could use one of those particular types of addresses from.

I'm not going to say who was responsible for the DoS attacks on the site, - because... well... I just can't ... but let's just say that the finger of suspicion wouldn't be pointing too far off target if it were to point to a company who use the music of Queen and Whitney Houston and a bloke dressed up in a mouse suit to help further line their bottomless pockets.

So yeah- on 'another' note, IrelandOFFLine aren't exactly eircom's favourite people in the world... although seeing as IOFFL are pushing for an IMPROVEMENT in the telecommunications infrastructure in this country, you'd think they'd be sharing a few goals with this lumbering ex-state-owned beast. - It's hardly surprising that people within eircom would be taking an interest in what's said here and keeping an active eye on boards.ie in general... especially the boards relating to them ... "IrelandOFFLine", "Nets/Comms", ahhmm... "Fantasy"... etc.

--

Hmmm... I must say, that suggestion of parody is intriguing...

Oh I've said enough...

Gordon · 20-08-2002 10:19pm

Originally posted by Bard
... especially the boards relating to them ... "IrelandOFFLine", "Nets/Comms", ahhmm... "Fantasy"... etc.

Then we should have a "Thieving C*nts" forum. I nominate a newly joined member of boards - "Bigfatstupidunfunnymouse" to be the moderator. I presume eircom employees would try and join under user names such as "Faircom" and "Eirnotcon".

Hah, the joys of a perfect world...

Winters · 20-08-2002 10:25pm

lol...i wish we knew who they are .. or have they even registered? Id say if you look through IOFFL you will find a poster who defends eircom ... that would be them!

Tellox · 20-08-2002 11:39pm

PPC always tries to defend eircom whenever I start off about em.. *suspicious music plays*

spongebob · 20-08-2002 11:51pm

I remember cute rat on a website once.

could ya get permission to rotate that then?

the gig is about getting 'ratfaced' ...surely.... which is the 'connection' I am suggesting here.

M

DeVore · 20-08-2002 11:54pm

You can still get that Rat tshirt and mousemat in our shop btw

Well, we havent seen the last of Eircoms little threats ... trust me its an ill wind that blows noone good

DeV.

We just got a Cease and Desist order from Eircom :)

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