![Musings of [another] LoudMouth Blonde](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtoP1bpTdawv_m3sSG9SwRSm9CNM3Glk9jkGUx6p-KFOeFSRPXwnWDPmRWNfQO9yF1FDc0StCctWgQJUbWaK6t0or82r3AQ-vy5oPiBldpm24QYME-GDd0Sf64L06JFUoL1xevL3PwciI/s1600/lmbkrys2.jpg)
After 24 hours it still had not been changed, and I sent her the following email;
Singer,
It has been nearly 24 hours since
you notified me that you would change the event image. I noticed that you
had time to visit the LMB FB page, manage the permissions to keep me from
posting on the wall, and delete my comments. Surely, you must have
the time to change the event image. If you don’t know how to do this, go
to each event, then edit, then change event image.
As per our agreement, I provided
you with a corrected LMB logo with my company mark, I have given permission to
use the logo as long as my information was not removed. As I mentioned
yesterday, you are in violation of that agreement.
Regardless of our personal
feelings, or the conditions in which this agreement was made, to which I
believe were false pretenses, an agreement is an agreement and I did hold up my
end of it.
Thank You,
Krys Rhodes
Cactus-Creations Web Design
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Her reply was... stunning.
I have told you I have no problem advertising your company on my logo. Again, I think you did great work.
I had to delete you because you are unpredictable and a very unstable person. I have read up on your diagnosis : Borderline Personality disorder. I am trying to be supportive and not have your actions affect me in a personal manner, but the constant emails, postings, and threats are too much for me to deal with.
I believe you mean well but you can not control your anger, and this harrasment needs to stop.
I hope you can get help, I will continue to support your wishes and post the new logo with your company name.
Singer
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Huh? Borderline Personality Disorder? Uhm... no. Where she got that I have no idea. I've been to therapy, it helped me alot, unfortunately like many other Americans I occasionally suffer from clinical depression, that doesn't mean I am BPD. My reply;
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- Let’s be clear, it’s MY logo, and I have granted YOU permission to use it.
- Whomever told you that I have borderline personality disorder is either boldy lying to you, or giving you wrong information.
- Every single action I have taken against you, has been a direct consequence of your actions. They are not born of instability, harassment, or unpredictability. They are purely me trying to protect my own interests personally and professionally.
- Threats? There have been no threats. If you are concerned about me hiring an attorney, and taking legal actions against you regarding safeguarding my work then perhaps you shouldn’t be trying to trademark something that isn’t your work and doesn’t belong to you.
- When you stop violating our agreement, and stop trying to claim something that clearly isn’t your work, then I will stop making a public outcry of your dirty, sneaky, and underhanded actions. It’s pretty simple Singer. Civil and Criminal law is on my side for this one, just because you spend a bunch of money and think you can get away with copyright theft, doesn’t mean you can. Stop your illegal actions, and I’ll shut up.
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She did not reply.
Five days later after speaking with my attorney I again contacted her with the following letter;
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Singer,
In an effort to make sure there are no misunderstandings
regarding ownership of the LMB logo my attorney has advised I make them clear.
When I created the LoudMouth Blonde logo it was for my use
on the website, www.loudmouthblonde.com
I have held legal ownership of that domain since it’s inception on September 1,
2006. That is how I was able to take the website down, because even
though the domain was transferred to godaddy from namezero, I did not
relinquish ownership of it.
When the logo was created, if we are getting specific, it
was not created for you. It was created for my use on the website, and
all media I produced. Permission for the use of the logo was given to you
but the only time you ever used it, was to have the banner made. In 2009
when the decision was made for me to no longer do the website I removed all of
my graphics, pictures, web files, and any and all data from the internet before
the transfer was made.
Shortly afterwards, I did receive request either through you
or you via John to use the logo on the new website. It was not something
I wanted to grant, but because of our friendship, I acquiesced, stating as long
as I was credited for the work I would allow it. As I pointed out in
April, that request was never honored.
I have never sold the logo to you or anyone else. I
have always maintained my ownership of all my freelance work. You at one
point stated you paid me for my work, but you did not. You gave me two
gifts, one was a $100 gift card to fashion bug, and the other was you purchased
a $50 dollar program for me, which was presented also as a thank you gift for
all my work. At Jack’s in April, you offered money. I declined,
stating this was not about money, and it is still not about money. $150 dollars
doesn’t even cover the operating costs of the website from 2006 to 2009, it
certainly does not begin to compensate me for my work on the website, or at
gigs, and as previously stated, they were presented as gifts and nothing more.
Therefore, you do not legally or otherwise own the LMB Logo,
you cannot because it was never sold and or given to you by me. I am within my
rights to rescind permission to use it at anytime. While I understand
that you may feel you own it because you are a member of the band, that does not
equate to ownership.
My company mark on the logo is also not about ‘advertising
my company’. Frankly, I would prefer that all use of the logo on your
website, facebook page, business cards, and any other media stop, but because I
agreed to allow the use as long as my mark remained on it, I will
continue to honor that agreement. If this was about advertising, I would
not have made the mark so small and unobtrusive.
Last month I was notified that you filed a trademark
application for my logo. I have been able to download all the documents
you submitted when you filed that trademark app, including the logo where my
company information was removed.
I have already been in contact with the Trademark
Commissioner, and submitted proof of ownership, copyright, and intellectual
copyright, and have been in contact via letter to the attorney on record of
your trademark filing. As previously stated in my last email to you, I
have also retained an attorney and we are wholly prepared to pursue both criminal
and civil charges.
I understand, Singer, that these are not issues you deal with
all the time. I would like to believe that you were not aware that the law was
broken when you filed that trademark application. You are certainly more
than welcome to trademark the band name, and I would encourage you to do so,
you cannot trademark or copyright the logo without either my permission or my
sale of the logo to you, and neither of things has or will happened. I
suggest that if you wish to trademark the band name, you hire a graphic
designer to create a new logo for the band and purchase it from them, but
please note, with the copyright held by me, it cannot in anyway look like the
one I created. There are several graphic design companies
that would be able to create a fabulous logo and new look for the band within
just a matter of days, or even hours.
Thank you for your careful consideration in reading this
letter, and I do hope we can resolve this situation without it going to
court. Good Luck, if you’d like a list of graphic design companies, I’d
be happy to provide that to you.
Krys Rhodes
Cactus-Creations Web Design
