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A small bike shop in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada has recently been threatened with legal action by US bicycle manufacturer Specialized regarding a trademark violation concerning the shop’s name. The Calgary Herald reported today that Dan Richter, owner of the Cafe Roubaix Bicycle Studio, received a letter from lawyers representing Specialized demanding he change his business’s name because the bicycle company owns the trademark of the word "Roubaix", a model of bicycle in the company’s line.
Read the full article here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/special … hange-name
More information here: http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2013/12/ … ecialized/
Personally, I think that many people are going way overboard in their reaction to Specialized. Specialized is just a big company, doing what big companies do… and yes, they do make awesome products. Also, I think much of the news coverage around this debate is overly wishy-washy, working the war-veteran PTSD angle. While that’s sad, it doesn’t have much, if any, bearing on the legal issues at play here.
On the other hand, how the heck does Specialized own a trademark on "Roubaix," as that’s the name of a town in France? I’m going to get a trademark on the name "San Francisco," and then I’ll get a buck every time Tony Bennett’s song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" is played.
Finally, is a small bike shop in Canada really going to damage Specialized’s supposed trademark? If anything, all of the publicity and support that the shop has received has really spalshed back in Specialized’s face. Before this, maybe a few thousand people in Cochrane would have known about this bike shop. Now, the name "Cafe Roubaix" is on cyclist’s lips across the globe.
Anyhow, that’s my take. But what do you think? Is Specialized right to defend their "trademark" ?
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With a trademark you’re narrowly defining the uses of the term you’re protecting. So Specialized probably trademarked "Roubaix" for anything bike related and if you want to name a bike shop Roubaix, that’s too close. However, Specialized couldn’t say boo if you were selling Roubaix Sausage or Roubaix Phones.
I’m with Specialized on this one. Personally, when I hear the word Roubaix I think about the Spec. bike so I could easily be confused into thinking the shop in question was a Specialized dealer.
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With a trademark you’re narrowly defining the uses of the term you’re protecting. So Specialized probably trademarked "Roubaix" for anything bike related and if you want to name a bike shop Roubaix, that’s too close. However, Specialized couldn’t say boo if you were selling Roubaix Sausage or Roubaix Phones.
Thanks for breaking that down for me. Since I have, like, 0 knowledge of how trademarks work legally, I figured there must be something I was missing 😀
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The other side is that if you’re a small business and you don’t understand trademark stuff, it can seem unfair.
Probably the best thing to do as a small business is to say our bad, we’ll change the name. But instead these guys decided to grab some publicity for themselves and (potentially) some big legal fees along with it.
Maybe we can host a naming contest for them to come up with a new shop name. 😀
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"jeff" wrote
Maybe we can host a naming contest for them to come up with a new shop name. 😀
I like Cafe NoRoubaix Bicycle Studio.
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Everyone forgets that Roubaix is a place in France..How can a bike manufacture own a town name..That is BS..Why doesn’t the town of Roubaix sue Specialized for the use of their town…Or are they paying the town to use that name..Pretty crazy if you ask me for Specialized to be so petty on this..Tell me how this effects their business.
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"jeff" wrote
I’m with Specialized on this one. Personally, when I hear the word Roubaix I think about the Spec. bike so I could easily be confused into thinking the shop in question was a Specialized dealer.
You’re in the minority. When most cyclists hear "Roubaix" they think of the iconic spring classic race, Paris-Roubaix, which starts in Paris and finishes in, you guessed it, the town of Roubaix, after traveling several sections of "pave" (ancient cobblestone roads). The bike is named after the race, which is named after the town.
Other interesting info.
Fuji has a line of bikes called the Roubaix, which they’ve had a long time before Specialized came out with their Roubaix.
Challenge tires has a tire called Paris-Roubaix.
FMB also has a tire called the Paris RoubaixThese are actual bicycle products from bigger companies, that people the world over are aware of, and yet the douchebags in the SpecialEd legal department went after a little shop in Canada. You know why? Because they know he wont fight back, he doesn’t have the resources. THEY’VE DONE THIS SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE.
Epic Wheelworks is now Sugar Wheelworks thanks to Specialized.
Epic Designs is now Revelate Designs thanks to Specialized.
Epic Ti is now EverTi thanks to Specialized.
They went after Mountain Cycle’s Stumptown bike, which was named after the city of Portland (aka Stumptown).Some further reading:
The Explainer: Because I @#$%ing hate bullies
Social media explosion over Specialized’s Roubaix lawsuitSpecialized makes some great products. Sorry, design great products (I don’t think they’ve ever actually made ANYTHING themselves, EVER). But their legal team is a bunch of douchebags, and the way they go after small businesses they know can’t fight back, that pose no threat to them, well, I wont be buying another Specialized product again.
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"syd" wrote
How can a bike manufacture own a town name..
The same way that Apple can defend their patent on the rectangle.
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They should probably also sue IMBA and the Town of Breckenridge over the use of the word Epic.
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Interesting tidbit from the Bicycle Retailer article:
"There were lawyers offering to take up his case pro bono, cycling fans raising money on his behalf, Twitter users organizing boycotts against Specialized, and hundreds of others who placed orders for his products. He quickly sold out of Café Roubaix T-shirts, and is hurrying to print more," the Herald’s Tom Babin reported. -
In other news, Specialized has named their new fat bike the Fatboy. Not to be confused with the Fat Boy, which is trademarked by Harley Davidson.
So apparently this whole thing can be settled by renaming the shop to CafeRoubaix, without the space.
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I get that the bike is named after Paris-Roubaix but when I just hear Roubaix (without the [i:1yea2498]Pariee[/i:1yea2498] part) I honestly think of the bike–and my bet is many others do too. Paris-Roubaix Cafe? Probably no problem there.
I [i:1yea2498]am[/i:1yea2498] surprised other companies have used/are using Roubaix in product names and that Specialized hasn’t gone after them. This is where my knowledge of trademarks gets fuzzy–not sure if you have to be the first to use it to have the trademark granted. I do know it’s actually really tough to get a trademark, especially if the term is already widely recognized. Big companies also have other ways of working things out outside of lawsuits (licensing deals, trades, etc.).
The only other thing left for this dust up is to have the Paris-Roubaix organizers go after Specialized for using their race name for a bike. 😀 I imagine if Trek came out with a MTB called the "Leadville" they’d be hearing from the Lifetime fitness lawyers.
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"maddslacker" wrote
In other news, Specialized has named their new fat bike the Fatboy. Not to be confused with the Fat Boy, which is trademarked by Harley Davidson.
So apparently this whole thing can be settled by renaming the shop to CafeRoubaix, without the space.
Specialized had a fatboy BMX way back in the day.
Oh, and another use of Roubaix – Roubaix fabric, aka Lycra with a fleecy fuzzy warm lining, like what you find in thermal bibs and tights. Roubaix is too common a word in the sport of cycling for someone to own a trademark IMO.
Is Specialized legaly allowed to go after this guy? Maybe, I don’t know the laws well enough to say for sure. But is it the right thing to do? NO!!
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dgaddis wrote: "Fuji has a line of bikes called the Roubaix, which they’ve had a long time before Specialized came out with their Roubaix."
Very true, but what is not being said in relationship to that is Specialized licenses the Roubaix name in the U.S. from ASI, the owner of the Fuji, Breezer and Kestrel brands.
"ASI owns the Roubaix trademark in the USA. ASI purchased the Fuji and Roubaix (and many other) trademarks from the Japanese owners of the Fuji brand when ASI was formed to purchase the company in 1998. Fuji uses the Roubaix mark worldwide and has since 1987. ASI licenses the trademark to Specialized."
IOW, Specialized pays another company a fee to use the name Roubaix.
Being a veteran myself (20 years USAF), I did feel a bit of sympathy with him at first. Then I read this:
“I had assumed I could not register Roubaix as a trade mark as it is a geographical location well known in cycling, not to mention the wide-spread use of the term ‘Roubaix’ throughout the industry,” he said in a press release. “I thought I could freely use Roubaix.”
When setting up a business, you cannot [i:6reuadha]assume[/i:6reuadha] or [i:6reuadha]think[/i:6reuadha]; you better [i:6reuadha]know[/i:6reuadha]. Is Specialized being a bit of prat in all this? Yeah probably as there are other ways to have handled this and still protected their trademark. But, in many ways, Mr. Richter brought this on himself via his lack of due diligence.
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That proves the point tho. It’s not unique to their bike. It’s a part of the sport. So why bother this guy in Canada?
They even use the name for two different products themselves, the frame/bike, and series of tires.
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"Fullback32" wrote
IOW, Specialized pays another company a fee to use the name Roubaix.
Interesting. Makes sense to me–Specialized has to pay to use the name so they’re making sure others do too. I don’t understand how Specialized would have legal standing to sue someone since they don’t actually own the trademark but sometimes this stuff can get complicated.
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IOW, Specialized pays another company a fee to use the name Roubaix.
But like you said, in the US. Specialized owns the Roubaix trademark in Canada, which is why they’re going after this Canadian bike shop.
I don’t understand how Specialized would have legal standing to sue someone since they don’t actually own the trademark but sometimes this stuff can get complicated.See above: they own the Canadian trademark for Roubaix, not the US one.
Edit:
So why bother this guy in Canada?Also see above. One of the news articles specifically mentioned that Specialized owns the Canadian trademark. for Roubaix.
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They have the legal right to defend the trademark (which, IMO, they should have never been granted since it’s such a huge part of cycling, and such a common word), but it’s not the right thing to do in this case. It’s not like this guy was costing them any real business. The PR backlash they’ve picked up will hurt them way more than any "confusion" caused by the Canadian bike shop’s name.
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This whole thing reminds me of the case just a couple weeks ago where the Beastie Boys were involved in a lawsuit over their song Girls being used in a video that went viral. Once all the facts came out, opinion really seemed to swing from one extreme to the other. One of the big surprises was that MCA’s will included a stipulation that the B-Boys’ music never be used in commercials.
This is why it’s usually better to let the lawyers handle this stuff in private to protect the reputations of both parties. 😀
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Also, this quote from Specialized in the Bicycle Retailer article:
We are required to defend or lose our trademark registration.It’s true that if you don’t actively use and defend your trademark, it can be considered "abandoned" and anyone will be free to use it. Obviously Specialized has put a lot of marketing $$ into the bike name over the years, plus any licensing fees for using the name in countries where it doesn’t own the trademark so this isn’t in their best interest.
Seems like the best strategy might be to grant the shop a license to use the name for $1. That way they aren’t opening the floodgates for others to use the name but they also recognize the outpouring of support for this (hapless) shop owner.
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"jeff" wrote
Seems like the best strategy might be to grant the shop a license to use the name for $1. That way they aren’t opening the floodgates for others to use the name but they also recognize the outpouring of support for this (hapless) shop owner.
From the RKP link:
Specialized is using the old “defend it or lose it” argument, saying that it must assert its “rights” to “their” trademark of Roubaix or risk losing it.It’s a weak argument and one that I, quite uncomfortably, had to try and make myself many years ago (more on that later). It’s basically an argument that can be summed up as — and forgive me for using another technical legal term here — ”bullshit.”
Trademark owners are not required to object to each and every use of a name. What they are required to do is to work to avoid confusion. In other words, Specialized might appropriately object to a bicycle carrying the moniker “Roubaix,” since they have trademarked the name of their model, but that authority doesn’t extend to virtually every use of the name … even when it’s related to cycling. Frankly, even that might be a stretch. Specialized sure as heck isn’t the only bike manufacturer which tried to convey a message about ruggedness by embracing the Roubaix name for its product.
In bike racing circles, “Roubaix” is about as close to being a generic term for “brutally tough,” as you can get.
I agree though, if they really wanted to protect the trademark, the $1 license fee would have been the way to go. But it’s too late for that now.
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"Fullback32" wrote
Being a veteran myself (20 years USAF), I did feel a bit of sympathy with him at first. Then I read this:
“I had assumed I could not register Roubaix as a trade mark as it is a geographical location well known in cycling, not to mention the wide-spread use of the term ‘Roubaix’ throughout the industry,” he said in a press release. “I thought I could freely use Roubaix.”
When setting up a business, you cannot [i:1esilugc]assume[/i:1esilugc] or [i:1esilugc]think[/i:1esilugc]; you better [i:1esilugc]know[/i:1esilugc]. Is Specialized being a bit of prat in all this? Yeah probably as there are other ways to have handled this and still protected their trademark. But, in many ways, Mr. Richter brought this on himself via his lack of due diligence.
+1
Another interesting tidbit from the Bicycle Retailer article:
A spokesman for Specialized’s U.S. office said the company would likely release a statement on the situation later Monday.I’m interested to see if there actually will be a statement, and if so, what it says.
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I’m just happy that they are generous enough to give away a free water bottle with a $250 Specialized purchase. What a steal!
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"delphinide" wrote
I’m just happy that they are generous enough to give away a free water bottle with a $250 Specialized purchase. What a steal!
Ha! I got that email too and thought the same thing. 😆
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Well at least we can joke about it… 😄 [url:3an41ljh]https://www.facebook.com/breckepic[/url:3an41ljh]
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I am on the side of the business owner, I just don’t think a geographical name should be allowed to be patented. Also, how about the power of social media? This went from something small (read that as small guy being outspent by big business in the legal department) to a world-wide cycling issue.
I wonder if the shop sold Specialized bikes (it doesn’t according to their website), would Specialized still go after them?
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"GimmeAraise" wrote
Well at least we can joke about it… 😄 [url:11smfkn4]https://www.facebook.com/breckepic[/url:11smfkn4]
😆 That’s awesome!
"gar29" wroteAlso, how about the power of social media? This went from something small (read that as small guy being outspent by big business in the legal department) to a world-wide cycling issue.
I know, right? Shortly after this started spreading, I checked their Facebook page, and they had a bit over 3,000 likes. I assume many of them from the first wave of coverage. Now, the Cafe Roubaix FB page has rocketed up to almost 11,000 likes in the course of just a couple of days!
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"mtbgreg1" wrote
[quote="GimmeAraise":3fbh4vnm]Well at least we can joke about it… 😄 [url:3fbh4vnm]https://www.facebook.com/breckepic[/url:3fbh4vnm]
😆 That’s awesome!
"gar29" wroteAlso, how about the power of social media? This went from something small (read that as small guy being outspent by big business in the legal department) to a world-wide cycling issue.
I know, right? Shortly after this started spreading, I checked their Facebook page, and they had a bit over 3,000 likes. I assume many of them from the first wave of coverage. Now, the Cafe Roubaix FB page has rocketed up to almost 11,000 likes in the course of just a couple of days![/quote:3fbh4vnm]
Heading that way to Like it myself!Check out this video I stole from Pedal Hound’s "The Mountain Bike Life" blog (please don’t sue me Rivers 😛). The video demonstrates Jeff’s point about what Specialized has to do to defend their trademark in a funny and frenetic kind of way.
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When I hear Roubaix, I think of brutal cobblestones, NOT Specialized. This is just a big name being a bully.
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"maddslacker" wrote
The same way that Apple can defend their patent on the rectangle.
Apple aren’t defending a "rectangle"
I suppose if you designed a device, patented it, but didn’t have the means to build it, and you went to someone who did, and they ripped every detail off, so even their own lawyers IN COURT couldn’t tell which was their clients phone – you’d be happy, right? Yeah, cause you would…
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I don’t understand all this legal mumbo jumbo and my guess is many of us mountain bikers have hit our head to many times to be able to fully comprehend Trademarks especially on an international scale. I think most of us are just voicing our opinions which is just fine because we…the consumer decide what companies succeed or fail. I just hope that the full power of social media is utilized to promote all of the smaller awesome bike companies that exist in the market. Use social media to promote a little friendly competition for the giants. If that 3,000 "likes" number on the guys Facebook Page is right that is a good start in a short amount of time. It of course would not deal a fatal blow to any one company, perhaps not even a dent, but maybe it would send a small message.
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"swerverider" wrote
[quote="maddslacker":rzh80fzo]The same way that Apple can defend their patent on the rectangle.
Apple aren’t defending a "rectangle"
I suppose if you designed a device, patented it, but didn’t have the means to build it, and you went to someone who did, and they ripped every detail off, so even their own lawyers IN COURT couldn’t tell which was their clients phone – you’d be happy, right? Yeah, cause you would…[/quote:rzh80fzo]
Yes, let’s post Samsung’s other formfactors from the era and not the models that the lawsuit was actually in relation to:
"Steve Jobs in Triumph of the Nerds" wroteWe have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.
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Hey – no one cares about phones, stay on topic fellas!
The plot thickens:
http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-am … qaW0aq9Kc1
I believe the legal jargon for that move is "thrown under the bus".
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Justice!
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"dgaddis" wrote
You’re in the minority. When most cyclists hear "Roubaix" they think of the iconic spring classic race, Paris-Roubaix, which starts in Paris and finishes in, you guessed it, the town of Roubaix, after traveling several sections of "pave" (ancient cobblestone roads). The bike is named after the race, which is named after the town.
Other interesting info.
Fuji has a line of bikes called the Roubaix, which they’ve had a long time before Specialized came out with their Roubaix.
Challenge tires has a tire called Paris-Roubaix.
FMB also has a tire called the Paris RoubaixThese are actual bicycle products from bigger companies, that people the world over are aware of, and yet the douchebags in the SpecialEd legal department went after a little shop in Canada. You know why? Because they know he wont fight back, he doesn’t have the resources. THEY’VE DONE THIS SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE.
Epic Wheelworks is now Sugar Wheelworks thanks to Specialized.
Epic Designs is now Revelate Designs thanks to Specialized.
Epic Ti is now EverTi thanks to Specialized.
They went after Mountain Cycle’s Stumptown bike, which was named after the city of Portland (aka Stumptown).Some further reading:
The Explainer: Because I @#$%ing hate bullies
Social media explosion over Specialized’s Roubaix lawsuitSpecialized makes some great products. Sorry, design great products (I don’t think they’ve ever actually made ANYTHING themselves, EVER). But their legal team is a bunch of douchebags, and the way they go after small businesses they know can’t fight back, that pose no threat to them, well, I wont be buying another Specialized product again.
So true, so very true!!! I cannot blame you with you latter sentiments, as I am with you on this one. I DO NOT nor WILL I EVER support such a company as Specialized whom use such unethical practices & tactics against smaller business that are absolutely no threat to such a big corporation. I would love to see the town of Roubaix in France file a lawsuit against Specialized. One thing for sure, I will never have a junk a** Specialized bicycle in my fleet. They are soooooooo overrated anyways!!! 😉
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"dgaddis" wrote
I believe the legal jargon for that move is "thrown under the bus".
Ha! Now it looks like Specialized may be the ones who are sued… by ASI. The shop owner will get to keep using the name BUT he does have to license it from ASI (for $$?).
Someone in the Specialized legal department really cocked this one up. What a mess!
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"jeff" wrote
[quote="dgaddis":1lpl702u]I believe the legal jargon for that move is "thrown under the bus".
Ha! Now it looks like Specialized may be the ones who are sued… by ASI. The shop owner will get to keep using the name BUT he does have to license it from ASI (for $$?).
Someone in the Specialized legal department really cocked this one up. What a mess![/quote:1lpl702u]
I imagine ASI will license the name to this guy for next to nothing. They’ve come out as the hero 😆
So far at least. Will be interesting if we ever hear anything from Specialized…..
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"dgaddis" wrote
Hey – no one cares about phones, stay on topic fellas!
The plot thickens:
http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-am … qaW0aq9Kc1
I believe the legal jargon for that move is "thrown under the bus".
For those who don’t click links:
Specialized Bicycle overstepped its bounds when it registered the Roubaix trademark in Canada and then tried to prevent a Calgary retailer from using the name, Advanced Sports International’s CEO told BRAIN on Monday.ASI says it owns the worldwide rights to the Roubaix trademark — it’s had a Fuji Roubaix road bike model in its lineup since 1992 — and has licensed it to Specialized since 2003. ASI’s Pat Cunnane said the company has no problem with retailer Dan Richter using the name on his store, Cafe Roubaix.
“We have reached out to Mr. Richter to inform him that he can continue to use the name, and we will need to license his use, which we imagine can be done easily,” Cunnane said.
Someone in the Specialized legal department really cocked this one up. What a mess!+1
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Great. Problem solved. Plus, Richter has free instantaneous publicity.
Now, who can I talk to about trademarking the acronym ‘USA’?….
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Their bikes suck any way! This just shows the world what they care about and it’s not the LBS of the world.
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http://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/news/a … bly-39282/
The heated trademark dispute between Specialized and a small Canadian bicycle shop will end peaceably, with no legal action, following a conversation between the shop owner and Specialized founder and CEO Mike Sinyard.“I had a great conversation with Mike Sinyard today, and I am happy to let everyone know that things will be working out fine. We thank you for your continued support. You have all been so very awesome to us!,” wrote Café Roubaix owner Dan Richter on his shop’s Facebook page Tuesday.
If this is indeed the end of the battle between Specialized and Café Roubaix, the question becomes what, it any, lasting impact this debacle will have on the Specialized brand? -
Never particularly cared for Specialized, but now, the bad taste is in to stay. Those guys were just going after something they felt they could win, losers.
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Mike Sinyard personally flew up to Canada to apologize. Wow: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=42 … =2&theater
Trying to save face, no doubt, but still, that’s pretty cool.
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Well… that was a slightly awkward meeting.
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Not a trademark expert but know the basics as a product development engineer. One standard is whether the "average person on the street" would believe two products or companies with the same name are connected. For example, Viking stoves and Viking freight line or the Chevy Malibu/ Piper Malibu (plane) / Malibu landscape lights…probably not. If a LBS called themselves "Specialized Bike Outlet" that’s quite different.
Trademarking place names is interesting…note the Kia "Sorento" (the Italian city is spelled Sor(r)ento). Makes it easier for Kia to defend.
All this said, Specialized was definitely being a dick about it, especially since it turns out they aren’t the trademark owner!
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To update this trainwreck:
Sinyard went to Canada and met with the LBS owner, made a nice PR movie, and issued an open letter to the industry apologizing. Meanwhile, Epix Gear (who make’s custom cycling/triathlon apparel) also received a C&D letter from Specialized, saying that their Epix logo look too similar to the Epic logo and could cause consumer confusion. Supposedly Specialized isn’t going to persue that however, thanks to the massive social media backlash the company is getting right now.
His open letter:
I Screwed up, and I own itI would like to apologize and let everyone know I realize I handled this situation wrong from the start and I’m very sorry for that. As many of you have probably already seen by now, I went up to Café Roubaix to meet with Dan in person to apologize and make good with him. Café Roubaix will continue on with its name. The video is up on Café Roubaix’s Facebook page. Dan is the real deal, after meeting him I realize this and am embarrassed by how ridiculous this is. What happened was wrong. There are no excuses but I do feel like I owe it to you all to explain how we found ourselves in this situation, the lessons we’ve learned from it and, most importantly, how it will change the way we do things moving forward.
Over the past few years we’ve seen a massive spike in counterfeit products, and most of the riders have no idea these products are fake, which is extremely dangerous because the risk of failure on these untested products is extremely high. In one instance, the entire head tube and fork sheared off a counterfeit Tarmac, causing the rider who had no idea he was not on a genuine Specialized product to faceplant and destroy his shoulder. To give you an idea of how much this issue has blown up, 10 Specialized employees hunt fake products across 30 major ecommerce platforms, we’ve identified over 5,000 listings, worth $11,000,000 USD in counterfeit goods since January 1st of this year alone. This is about double what it was last year. Due to this we have recently gone after IP and trademark issues more aggressively in the interest of protecting the safety of riders and the livelihood of our dealers and their hard-working employees. See the attached picture to understand how dangerous fake goods are.
In the deal with Café Roubaix, the wheels were the red flag that got the attention of our outside attorney’s who were already sort of on red alert for anything that pops up, although Café Roubaix wasn’t in the same camp as the counterfeiters, they still got caught in the crossfire. There is so much activity with infringers that it’s overwhelming and I don’t see them all. The first I heard of it was Saturday morning and by Monday the thing went huge. But still, that was my fault, which is why I’m so embarrassed. I should have called Dan immediately.
I heard you and you can rest assured I took it to heart. I realize now that we went too far with this aggressive approach and as a result and in some cases we hurt the local bikes shops and small businesses we wanted to protect. As a result we’re going to take a much closer look at all pending and future intellectual property and trademark issues, making sure to only pursue those that present a clear and obvious danger. The letter on Epix Gear was issued before the Café Roubaix story broke and has since been pulled.
I handled this very poorly and I own full responsibility. Dan at Café Roubaix and I have become friends and he’s happy with the solution. I hope you too accept my sincere apology. Like you all, I’m passionate about cycling and want to do everything possible to grow the activity we all love.
Sincerely,
-Mike Sinyard
FounderPersonally: something stinks like BS to me. He says he’s trying to fight counterfeit goods…none of the companies they’ve went after in the past make anything even close to resembling counterfeit Specialized goods. He’s trying to save face, and the fact that they made a video of his visit to Canada to try and spin this thing in their favor leaves a bad marketing/PR taste in my mouth.
On a positive note, I do think he’s leared a lesson here, and hopefully we wont see any more of this.
One (hopefully) last article on the topic: http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/12/ … icy_311137
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"dgaddis" wrote
To update this trainwreck:
Sinyard went to Canada and met with the LBS owner, made a nice PR movie, and issued an open letter to the industry apologizing. Meanwhile, Epix Gear (who make’s custom cycling/triathlon apparel) also received a C&D letter from Specialized, saying that their Epix logo look too similar to the Epic logo and could cause consumer confusion. Supposedly Specialized isn’t going to persue that however, thanks to the massive social media backlash the company is getting right now.
His open letter:
***SNIP***Personally: something stinks like BS to me. He says he’s trying to fight counterfeit goods…none of the companies they’ve went after in the past make anything even close to resembling counterfeit Specialized goods. He’s trying to save face, and the fact that they made a video of his visit to Canada to try and spin this thing in their favor leaves a bad marketing/PR taste in my mouth.
On a positive note, I do think he’s leared a lesson here, and hopefully we wont see any more of this.
One (hopefully) last article on the topic: http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/12/ … icy_311137
^^^ +++++++++ 1
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"kenish" wrote
Not a trademark expert but know the basics as a product development engineer. One standard is whether the "average person on the street" would believe two products or companies with the same name are connected. For example, Viking stoves and Viking freight line or the Chevy Malibu/ Piper Malibu (plane) / Malibu landscape lights…probably not. If a LBS called themselves "Specialized Bike Outlet" that’s quite different.
Trademarking place names is interesting…note the Kia "Sorento" (the Italian city is spelled Sor(r)ento). Makes it easier for Kia to defend.
All this said, Specialized was definitely being a dick about it, especially since it turns out they aren’t the trademark owner!
^^^ +++++++++++ 1
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After reading the second story about Epix, it seems like 1. the lawyers are trying to keep their money coming in by going after anything even remotely similar to Specialized and 2. Sinyard sent the lawyers on the witch hunt, or isn’t involved enough to care that they go after everyone!
How many of those small shopes, like Cafe Roubiax, couldn’t afford lawyers and just gave in to the pressure? Hopefully this has given those businesses some voice in what happens.
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