New Post: Bryce is Seeing Some Serious Heat (via thatsaclownquestionbro.com)

[malone1020]

Hey All -

I'm the owner of/writer at thatsaclownquestionbro.com - a saber-slanted MLB blog with a Bryce-centric focus.  I have a new post up - which is also my first on Bryce - about the average fastball velocity Bryce sees relative to some of the league's best hitters.  Thought I'd share with you guys...

http://thatsaclownquestionbro.com/home/bryce-is-seeing-some-filthy-heat/

I plan on taking some very unique looks at Bryce's talent and performance as the season progresses, so feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed to be updated whenever a new article/blog post is published:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/NotAClownBlogBro

Thanks for your time, guys!
Brian

[Kevrock]

How quickly did you register the domain name after the Bryce interview?

[malone1020]

Well, I laughed for about five minutes until I realized that this was the perfect quote for an MLB blog that I wanted to start writing.  Plus, who doesn't love Bryce?

Since I had never bought/designed a site before, I did some research w/ different hosting sites and eventually purchased the domain a couple hours later. 

Sadly, as you now probably all know, "Bryce" beat my trademark filing, as I didn't even think about it until a couple days later.  Alas, Bryce said the quote, so I suppose it's only natural that he profit from it if there is money to be made off it. 

I've sold a couple hundred 'That's a Clown Question, Bro' shirts via skreened.com/bryceharper.  I'm sure I'll receive a cease and desist letter from Under Armour any day now.  I just hope they allow me to keep the site...not really sure how that works with me having purchased the domain prior to their filing for the TM.

For now, enjoy the blog posts and feel free to share the site and fire off in the comments!

[BerkeleyNat]

Way to be on top of things! 

I wonder how many people tried to register that domain name?

[Coladar]

I suspect you lose the domain. Copyright law is a nag, and further, the content on your site indicates it is derivative from the quote. Now, if you ran a website dedicated to clowns, you would likely be able to keep it . But its baseball and even worse, Harper ball, so the only reason you haven't had to transfer the domain is his lawyer hasn't thought about it yet.

[tomterp]

I suspect you lose the domain. Copyright law is a nag, and further, the content on your site indicates it is derivative from the quote. Now, if you ran a website dedicated to assclowns, you would likely be able to keep it . But its baseball and even worse, Harper ball, so the only reason you haven't had to transfer the domain is his lawyer hasn't thought about it yet.

Fixed.

[malone1020]

LOL.

Copyright law is different than trademarks, though.  Honestly, I'm not even sure how Bryce's team got the trademark accepted so quickly.  One has to prove that quote being trademarked is a part of the "brand."  I know Bryce said it on live TV, but like his brother said, Bryce likely got it from his brother's friend. 

For example: it took Nike some time to be able to trademark "Just Do It" because they had to prove that the slogan was a value-add to the brand. 

What's funny is that I had zero gameplan regarding how I was going to prove it was part of my brand when I went to file.

I should probably open up my patent law books from business school, eh?  Under Armour should let me keep the site, as all I'll be doing is praising Bryce and propping up his brand!

C'mon UA, let me just have this!

[Coladar]

True enough, trademark law is a little different, and more likely to benefit you. That said, if they contact you demanding you forfeit it, if I were you I'd say I really like the domain, believe that the law is on my side as I am not selling anything or monetarily benefiting from it, BUT I'd be willing to sell the rights to the domain. Then they make you an offer and you've earned a few grand.

[HalfSmokes]

LOL.

Copyright law is different than trademarks, though.  Honestly, I'm not even sure how Bryce's team got the trademark accepted so quickly.  One has to prove that quote being trademarked is a part of the "brand."  I know Bryce said it on live TV, but like his brother said, Bryce likely got it from his brother's friend. 

For example: it took Nike some time to be able to trademark "Just Do It" because they had to prove that the slogan was a value-add to the brand. 

What's funny is that I had zero gameplan regarding how I was going to prove it was part of my brand when I went to file.

I should probably open up my patent law books from business school, eh?  Under Armour should let me keep the site, as all I'll be doing is praising Bryce and propping up his brand!

C'mon UA, let me just have this!

You can file an intent to use application

[Coladar]

I took a glance at the site and see you are selling t-shirts with the quote on them. Not judging one way or another, but I think most anyone on here would agree that's probably not a good idea in light of the trademark. First and foremost it would mean a zero chance of keeping the domain and more problematically could mean some nasty legal issues down the road. I know if it were me, I'd be scared to death to sell anything with such a visible trademarked domain and the certainty there are a team of lawyers just looking for things to do.

Sure, a crapload of other people sold and profited from the quote. But they didn't do so on the domain. At the very least it means you'd get the domain taken away in seconds, most importantly you'd have zero chance of making a few grand by selling them the domain.

[MarquisDeSade]

I love all the interwebz lawyering here.

[tomterp]

I love all the interwebz lawyering here.

We have at least a couple of real lawyers here - Soxfan, JCA.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

and they know enough not to opine on an area of law they know nothing about. 

[Kevrock]

[MarquisDeSade]

and they know enough not to opine on an area of law they know nothing about. 

Exactly my point.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Just tweak the spelling..."brö" has a nice touch of swagger

[LostYudite]

and they know enough not to opine on an area of law they know nothing about.

True dat.  Rule #1: Know enough to know when you don't know enough.

"But you see your honor, this guy on the internet told me that it's not a copyright violation.  He seemed to know what he was talking about."

Judge:  "That's a clown defense, bro."

[malone1020]

Yeah, I'm monitoring the situation carefully.  They have filed for the TM, but it's not official yet.  In the meantime, the shirts are selling like crazy.  Quite conflicted. 

In the end, I'll likely remove it sooner than later to avoid any potential issues.  I've had the t-shirt store up since day 1.  Not like I just started selling them.

Thanks for looking out, all! I'll be sure to share Under Armour's cease and desist order when it comes!

[blue911]

Just tweak the spelling..."brö" has a nice touch of swagger

Exactly, and ask him which brand of aquavit he prefers.

[Kevrock]

Exactly, and ask him which brand of aquavit he prefers.

Hey, it's blue! Welcome back.

[Coladar]

and they know enough not to opine on an area of law they know nothing about. 

If we are talking about me, its something I know a fair amount about. When I was 11, I ran a website with a copywritten name involved, but it was a fan site. When eBay, who at the time was two years old, contacted me for advertising, I did a crapload of research. While that was 15 years ago, stuff like that doesn't change. So while my personal stalker might like to put it down as my knowing nothing about the subject I do have some knowledge. Never mind I went to law school for a year at GMU until I decided I hated it and my only passion was constitutional law.

Enough to know when the trademark is granted, I'd remove the shirts immediately. Keeping them up while the trademark is processing might lessen your chances of keeping the domain, but if you are raking in money, yeah, it'd be hard to stop. But like I said, I'd keep in mind the payday you might get for selling UA/Harper the domain.

[houston-nat]

So while my personal stalker might like to put it down as my knowing nothing about the subject I do have some knowledge.

I found out this week that I do have a personal stalker.
I might post about it in Uncensored.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

If we are talking about me, its something I know a fair amount about.

No, I'm talking about me. My opinion on intellectual property is nearly useless. You probably have a better idea about IP than I do since, as you say, you had a website and may have had to deal with it in real life.

[MarquisDeSade]

Too many delusional jackasses here.  Time to head over to Orioles Hangout. 

[Obed_Marsh]

I happen to be a high priced internet attorney. Deposit $1,000 in my paypal account and I will answer one question. Deposit $1,750 and I will answer two.