I get phone calls

I had a call last night from Timothy O'Callaghan, Partner, Piper Alderman, the law firm that sent the vague and  rather snotty note the other day about the Aussie Yellow pages post.

With an apology.

Apparently I was sent the note in error, it was NOT unauthorised use of the trademark at all;

Your article was identified as an occasion of incorrect use of the "Yellow Pages" trade mark,  but not infringing use. Our instructions were  request you to:

1. use the ® symbol next to the trade mark "yellow  wherever it is used in order to demonstrate that it is a registered trade mark in Australia; and
2. use the name of the product as a noun (eg "the Yellow Pages® Directory")

Mhmm. Like THAT will fly. I was very polite on the phone, he even thanked me for my attitude, but I did point out that Yellow pages is now a generic term, a bit like Google really, or Xerox.

For the record, the reply.

Hi Tim

At 05:25 p.m. 3/12/2007, you wrote:

Letter attached as discussed today.

Thank you for the way in which you responded to my telephone call.

My pleasure. It was good to hear that it was a foulup; happens in the best ordered families.

As to the request for the form of use of the Yellow pages name, as I indicated, I probably wont go that far.

In the first place the use of trade names in news and commentary pieces is very rarely cited as you request.

To instance only "The seeds of discontent" by Simon Webster, an opinion piece from Today's SMH, who cites numerous registered trade marks without the form of attribution you request.

• Monsanto.
• The Land
• Tour de France
• Roundup
• champagne
• The Young Ones
• Coles

Interestingly they don't even capitalise Champagne and the only names distinguished are a newspaper and a TV show which are italicised.

To do as you ask would set me well outside the mainstream of such material. I'm afraid yellow pages needs to make some more effective efforts to understand and participate in the online world.

If they need a strategist, I'm available.
=)

Cheers

And if they want advertising, they can pay for it.

Comments

[Saltation]

heh