They're at it again....S is suing another small business.

[sales guy]

So, just after "apologizing" to Dan Richter, S is at it again!

He is suing epixgear.com over their name.

Again, tiger isn't changing its stripes, why would S!?

[keevon]

Surely they don't have exclusive rights to the word "Epic" and its derivatives.

[ultraman6970]

Just insane... somebody is taking dope at specialized, who knows how many letter they send every month.

https://www.facebook.com/epixgear

[ultraman6970]

Is not about the word this time, looks like is about the logo, to me they dont even look similar.

Surely they don't have exclusive rights to the word "Epic" and its derivatives.

[William]

Is not about the word this time, looks like is about the logo, to me they dont even look similar.

I don't see the connection. Not even remotely close. I would never have thought of "S" looking at the Epix logo. I guess their legal department is set on trashing "S"'s public image?:confused:






William

[phcollard]

Let's keep the lawyers busy uh?

I don't want to hear about this effin' brand anymore.

[William]

Let's keep the lawyers busy uh?

I don't want to hear about this effin' brand anymore.


You will be hearing from my lawyers shortly!:butt:






William:p

[phcollard]

You will be hearing from my lawyers shortly!:butt:






William:p

Lol. This made my day :) :)

Is "big boy" trademarked as well?

[54ny77]

Can I sue Specialized for loss (diminished value) of my two Specialized bikes?

[pbarry]

I'd love to see them file a suit against Vail Resorts for their "Epic Pass".

[Ahneida Ride]

A local company in business for 100 years,using the family name,
is being suing by a NFL football team that has part of the same word.

This company has nothing to do with sports.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . they are not suing. They just sent a C&D letter. But at this point I guess it's academic.

The only real question now is which of the Three Stooges are running The Big S's legal and PR departments.

BBD

[crossjunkee]

This one seems strange. I wonder if they contacted Specialized before going straight to social media?

[sales guy]

. . . they are not suing. They just sent a C&D letter. But at this point I guess it's academic.

BBD


Agreed. Not suing YET, but a letter of the same calibre as Roubaix is indeed out there AGAIN! This time, over a word, not spelled the same, stylized the same or anything!!!

They just don't learn or care, that is the ending of it. They just don't.

[sales guy]

This one seems strange. I wonder if they contacted Specialized before going straight to social media?


If they did or didn't, it doesn't matter. It is a massive over reach on the part of S. Again, you can't sue one and not the other. Epic Bikes in Georgia has never had a letter or anything sent their way.

Why not?

YET...EPIX gear has? For using the word EPIC?

They didn't even use the damn word!

[crossjunkee]

If they did or didn't, it doesn't matter. It is a massive over reach on the part of S. Again, you can't sue one and not the other. Epic Bikes in Georgia has never had a letter or anything sent their way.

Why not?

YET...EPIX gear has? For using the word EPIC?

They didn't even use the damn word!

Just seems strange, that's all. I'm not an internet lawyer, and know nothing about the details. Epix should just tell them, no.

[sitzmark]

Agreed. Not suing YET, but a letter of the same calibre as Roubaix is indeed out there AGAIN! This time, over a word, not spelled the same, stylized the same or anything!!!

They just don't learn or care, that is the ending of it. They just don't.

Isn't a word - it's a logo/design issue. Most likely color and font selection.

This is just how marks are defended. Either the marketing team is tasked with watching for "infringements" or a trademark monitoring service is hired. Concerns are passed to attorneys for followup. The TM industry has general guidelines for how words, combinations of words, design elements, and industry association creates conflict, but because trademarking is a bit nebulous anyway the boundaries are defined by challenge. It's a part of business that comes with the territory.

C&Ds create a record of notice. Where it goes from there is part of the discussion and circumstances that follow.

[bloody sunday]

If they did or didn't, it doesn't matter. It is a massive over reach on the part of S. Again, you can't sue one and not the other. Epic Bikes in Georgia has never had a letter or anything sent their way.

Why not?

YET...EPIX gear has? For using the word EPIC?

They didn't even use the damn word!

I believe, as others stated, that the issue is most likely the logo, not the particular word.

[plattyjo]

The logos look totally different, though. It's like their lawyers are using 'bots to do their research.

[sales guy]

The logos look totally different, though. It's like their lawyers are using 'bots to do their research.

Robots to search for their stuff....that would be EPIC!!!!


Oh ····! No Sinyards gonna sue me.

[MattTuck]

The word tone deaf comes to mind.

Do these things get handled by an internal legal team or through outside counsel? Either way, Specialized should look carefully at its legal strategy.

Sinyard must get a kickback from the bar association.


This would be a great case for some enthusiastic law school students to take on pro bono.

[Charles M]

Quote from Cyclingnews story...

"Sinyard said that the actions by Specialized had hurt the brand and changes would be made to how the company targets future trademark disputes."


And then Bam...

Epix Gear...

[54ny77]

Oh Sarah Borrey, where art thou?

:bike:

[Hawker]

Sheesh, wouldn't' you think at after the Canadian fiasco that strategically at least someone would have said; no more C&D letters for at least the month of December.


Sounds like Specialized needs to license this jersey as their very own.

[ultraman6970]

LOL you have the word effin registered? :D

You will be hearing from my lawyers shortly!:butt:






William:p

[BumbleBeeDave]

I guess in some universe somebody might think the two companies are associated, but I'm thinkin' it's not THIS universe. WAY totally different looks.

BBD

[SpokeValley]

Quote from Cyclingnews story...

"Sinyard said that the actions by Specialized had hurt the brand and changes would be made to how the company targets future trademark disputes."


And then Bam...

Epix Gear...

Not giving Big S any credit, but the letter to Epix may have gone out before Cafe Roubaix went nuclear...let's see what happens with this one.

I wonder if MS will have to fuel up the jet...I don't know if he has one, wouldn't be surprised, though. ;)

[professerr]

The word tone deaf comes to mind.

Do these things get handled by an internal legal team or through outside counsel? Either way, Specialized should look carefully at its legal strategy.

Sinyard must get a kickback from the bar association.



I've seen how this goes down enough times to speak with some authority. In my experience, legal departments and outside counsel usually aren't stupid and don't want to pick fights they won't likely win in actual court or the court of public opinion. These are corporate and/or trademark lawyers, not Gloria Allred, and the ones I've seen who have been around a while know how this ends -- once the heat is one, the lawyer gets thrown under the bus for wasting a bunch of money and good will.

The guys driving this sort of stuff are often an agro C-level exec (e.g. Sinyard) or, occasionally, someone in sales who wants legal to "do something" about some perceived IP slight. You'll never know this, however, looking in from the outside.

[sg8357]

Surely they don't have exclusive rights to the word "Epic" and its derivatives.

Of course not, Rapha owns the word "Epic"

[josephr]

I'd love to see them file a suit against Vail Resorts for their "Epic Pass".

Or maybe IMBA for labeling trail systems as "Epic?"
Joe

[Louis]

I've decided to sue Sinyard for breathing some air molecules that were intended for my use. That clearly infringes on my continued operations.

[vqdriver]

Not giving Big S any credit, but the letter to Epix may have gone out before Cafe Roubaix went nuclear...

that's what comes to mind for me as well. who knows, there may be even more to surface.

i mean, no one's THAT dumb right? even if they had a legit argument (i don't think they do) the timing couldn't be worse. they're doing themselves more harm than anything.

[Louis]

Does all this mean I have to get rid of my S__________ (I don't dare use the word, lest they sue me for doing that) water bottles?

I used to like them.

[bikingshearer]

Is "big boy" trademarked as well?

Yup. By some guy named Bob.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u46/bikingshearer/bobsbigboy_zps7f621a5a.jpg (http://s165.photobucket.com/user/bikingshearer/media/bobsbigboy_zps7f621a5a.jpg.html)

[William]

This dude just showed up at my door with a cease and desist letter!:crap:

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/artifacts/archives/bigboy.jpg








William;)

[sales guy]

Here you go. The letter to EPIX Gear. They are claiming the logo and the use of the word EPIC/EPIX.

This garbage is just stupid. The letter is listed as December 4. With a reply demand of December 10. Not exactly a ton of time to review things.

[54ny77]

Dewey Screwem & Howe, Counselors.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Dewey Screwem & Howe, Counselors.

Or, We'll, Getcha & Mangle Ya, LLP [a play on Weil, Gotschal & Manges, LLP]

[josephr]

If you look at Café Roubaix's facebook page, looks like old man Sinyard paid the guys a visit, apologized in person. Even got photos. Maybe everything is OK with the Big S after all???
Joe

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Here you go. The letter to EPIX Gear. They are claiming the logo and the use of the word EPIC/EPIX.

This garbage is just stupid. The letter is listed as December 4. With a reply demand of December 10. Not exactly a ton of time to review things.

I'd hate to be Lori Meddings (the author of this CD letter). Not sure I understand why Specialized is farming out this work to a somewhat obscure Wisconsin-based firm.

[BumbleBeeDave]

If you look at Café Roubaix's facebook page, looks like old man Sinyard paid the guys a visit, apologized in person. Even got photos. Maybe everything is OK with the Big S after all???
Joe

Way too little too late as far as apology--and probably dictated by the PR department. Sinyard looked incredibly uncomfortable during the whole thing.

BBD

[DRZRM]

Mike Sinyard's Open Letter to the Community (http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/12/12/mike-sinyards-open-letter-to-the-industry/)

Apparently the Epix letter pre-dated the Cafe Roubaix and the complaint has also been withdrawn.

"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"

[plattyjo]

Mike Sinyard's Open Letter to the Community (http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/12/12/mike-sinyards-open-letter-to-the-industry/)

"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.

Hopefully this is true and we won't have to hear about frivolous C&D letters for a long, long time...

[JAGI410]

Apparently the Epix letter pre-dated the Cafe Roubaix and the complaint has also been withdrawn.

And Epix just posted that they were not aware of this. This whole thing is silly.

[don compton]

Mike Sinyard's Open Letter to the Community (http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/12/12/mike-sinyards-open-letter-to-the-industry/)
Pleeeeeeeeease

Apparently the Epix letter pre-dated the Cafe Roubaix and the complaint has also been withdrawn.

"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"
Pleeeeease!

[Louis]

Pleeeeease!

That's what happens when the little guy gets a few of this buddies to come along and help - the big school-yard bully backs down pretty quick.

[Black Dog]

I'd hate to be Lori Meddings (the author of this CD letter). Not sure I understand why Specialized is farming out this work to a somewhat obscure Wisconsin-based firm.

Wisconsin based firm. Hmmmm. Perhaps this is a prank by trek to take S down a few pegs.

W T F? Where did that moving red dot on my chest come frooooo

[54ny77]

great comment:

"Epic 29 Guy - 12/12/13 - 9:26pm
The solution is easy, for the premium paid on Specialized bikes, just bring the manufacturing home and you would have less of these embarrassing situations. Why? Because the Chinese firms that currently build them cannot steal your designs and counterfeit your bikes.

Case closed."