Rumor: Big things happening

[Lempo]

So basically, it's dueling marks. The Club asserting that because they have the right to the WH, they should also have the right to the lapsed word mark -- and evidently it got to the point where the Canes dropped the gloves.

Also of note: the ruling is due in less than a week.

Something tells me the defense is fixing to get rolled up -- because the Whale Tail is the actual *service mark* that has precedence over basically all the other marks.

It was filed in December, there's no ruling coming up in loooong time. The Feb 6 due date is about notifying (and getting the answer from) the defendant about the set court days.

The defendant doesn't even know about the case officially yet.

LOL first thing Dundon did was suing for the HW text trademark. BoH will have a field day.

 

[Svechhammer]

So basically, it's dueling marks. The Club asserting that because they have the right to the WH, they should also have the right to the lapsed word mark -- and evidently it got to the point where the Canes dropped the gloves.

Also of note: the ruling is due in less than a week.

Something tells me the defense is fixing to get rolled up -- because the Whale Tail is the actual *service mark* that has precedence over basically all the other marks.

First of all, fantastic research, thanks! I had always been of the belief that the Whale stayed up there when we moved, so this is interesting to see.

But let's just get to the brass tacks here. You mean to tell me all the Whaler gear that people have been buying to show why the team in Raleigh sucks is actually sending their money TO the Canes after all? Because if that's the case, the irony is too damn good to be true.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

First of all, fantastic research, thanks! I had always been of the belief that the Whale stayed up there when we moved, so this is interesting to see.

But let's just get to the brass tacks here. You mean to tell me all the Whaler gear that people have been buying to show why the team in Raleigh sucks is actually sending their money TO the Canes after all? Because if that's the case, the irony is too damn good to be true.

If it's got the logo on it, then either the Canes have been licensing the mark all along, or the people selling the gear have been violating the trademark owned by the Canes.

My guess is squatter confusion. Dude saw part of the rights lapse, dude bought rights without realizing that they were ultimately meaningless without the service mark, dude is now approaching Judgment Day. Since it's clear which side the NHL lawyers are on. Don't f*** with Uncle Gary.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

It was filed in December, there's no ruling coming up in loooong time. The Feb 6 due date is about notifying (and getting the answer from) the defendant about the set court days.

The defendant doesn't even know about the case officially yet.

LOL first thing Dundon did was suing for the HW text trademark. BoH will have a field day.

Oh yes, of course you're right.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I have the urge to start a GDT for the lawsuit.

 

[Lempo]

What's happening in the case is that Canes are opposing the registration (filed March 7th, 2016) of "HARTFORD WHALERS" wordmark by JAY KENNETTE MEDIA GROUP LLC.

Who seems to have registered plenty for sports apparel and stuff. And is not having their first TM issue about it.

 

[Lempo]

I have the urge to start a GDT for the lawsuit.

We must.

 

[BrindAmours Army]

So basically, it's dueling marks. The Club asserting that because they have the right to the WH, they should also have the right to the lapsed word mark -- and evidently it got to the point where the Canes dropped the gloves.

Also of note: the ruling is due in less than a week.

Something tells me the defense is fixing to get rolled up -- because the Whale Tail is the actual *service mark* that has precedence over basically all the other marks.

So it's not that the word mark lapsed, but that the registration lapsed. Federal registration isn't necessary to have trademark rights, but it puts everyone else on notice. Because the words "Hartford Whalers" are still being used on officially licensed merchandise the Hurricanes can still show use in commerce, and it's still being used to identify a brand. So the words are still being used as a trademark and have trademark rights. This would be true even without the WH registration.

Had the Canes not opposed this registration, they would have been at risk to lose their rights. If an owner of a trademark doesn't police the mark and protect it, it can cease functioning as a trademark and lose all rights.

The defense seems to have a lot of registrations and pending registrations. They seem to be all over as far as branding goes. I would be surprised to see this go their way. I'm actually pretty surprised that the registration got this far at all. They were initially denied and one of the reasons was that a registration would lead people to believe that there was a false connection between registrant and the Hurricanes. In a response to this, the defense claimed that the mark hasn't been used for 20 years, which a simple Google search would prove was wrong.

Obligatory Disclaimer: I'm a law student not an attorney.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

It appears that Kennette claims actual usage since 2005 -- and since the mark was lapsed at that point, using the word mark would have been (or seemed like) fair game.

So maybe Kennette got greedy and figured "hey no1curr bout dis mark" and filed for the actual mark.

BIG MISTAKE DOCTOR JONES

 

[Lempo]

Could it even be that Dundon et co are gaming it a bit for the court case, enstrenghtening their claim on the trademark by publicly claiming that they are going to use it.

 

[Negan4Coach]

So what happens if I show up to military rush tonight and demand my $15 upper level tx...can I just get them and roll to the lower level or will I be forced to buy lower levels?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
The madness

 

[BrindAmours Army]

Could it even be that Dundon et co are gaming it a bit for the court case, enstrenghtening their claim on the trademark by publicly claiming that they are going to use it.

Intent to use shouldn't help in a case like this.

 

[geehaad]

I just want to know how Hank managed to created those wonderfully formatted tables and whatnot.

T'was so beautiful, did bring a tear to my eye.

 

[Lempo]

Intent to use shouldn't help in a case like this.

No but it's a, ha, storm warning or sorts. If they vocally complained about someone else making money out of the TM, it's hard to imagine this case wasn't partially in their mind when stating the intent to sell Whalers apparel.

We'll ruin this thread if we don't get a Hartford Whalers trademark GDT.

 

[My Special Purpose]

What do you think about Peter's comment saying that he's coached Duchene enough to know where he belongs (the wing?)

If that's the case, I trust him. But we have to stop pretending that was the only player available, just because it was public knowledge. Very few players in any league are truly untouchable, but the only deals we're allowed to comment on are when a player is known to be available. Otherwise the naysayers get to say "he's not available," even though they have no evidence to support that.

My point is that I wanted to deal a d-man for a center. I supported Duchene because he was the only top-6 center known to be available, but honestly, I trust Francis/Peters to get the right guy, assuming they eventually do anything.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I just want to know how Hank managed to created those wonderfully formatted tables and whatnot.

T'was so beautiful, did bring a tear to my eye.

Modern browsers cut and paste beautifully.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

So basically, it's dueling marks. The Club asserting that because they have the right to the WH, they should also have the right to the lapsed word mark -- and evidently it got to the point where the Canes dropped the gloves.

Also of note: the ruling is due in less than a week.

Something tells me the defense is fixing to get rolled up -- because the Whale Tail is the actual *service mark* that has precedence over basically all the other marks.

It was filed in December, there's no ruling coming up in loooong time. The Feb 6 due date is about notifying (and getting the answer from) the defendant about the set court days.

The defendant doesn't even know about the case officially yet.

LOL first thing Dundon did was suing for the HW text trademark. BoH will have a field day.

You guys are a little bit right and a little bit wrong. Here's the corrections of note:

• February 6th isn't about notifying about court days. An answer is the defendant's response to a document beginning a legal action. In most civil cases that's a complaint, in this case it's the Notice of Opposition filed. So February 6th is the deadline for Kennette to respond to the contentions made in the Notice of Opposition.
  
• The Notice of Opposition wasn't filed solely by Dundon but is primarily the filing of the League. We're involved because the team still holds the trademark and is the Whalers franchise.
  
• Nothing in the Opposition mentioned us using the trademark or marks either now or in the future but refer to the League's use of them through merchandise for sale at 3rd party retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods, for sale at the NHL retail store in NYC, for sale at shop.nhl.com, etc.
  
• When Kennette originally filed for use, the sample garment had the whale tail logo. That then changed to just the wordmark "Hartford Whalers" on the neck of a plain white t-shirt in a revised application.

I've downloaded the Notice of Opposition and placed it here if anybody wants to read it in full.

 

[DaveG]

I demand @DaveG Beer at all home games

I demand @DaveG Beer at home.

I demand @DaveG brew beer at my home.

No joke we've talked about getting the brewery in to PNC in the past, just hasn't been in the budget... yet. And there was talk in the past about hosting a beer festival at PNC itself rather then the fairgrounds, personally this is what I'd advocate before the game at some point in say April or late March, and toward the start of next season. But that's about as far as we can probably go with it without the distro losing their ever loving shit (which I wouldn't mind personally but that's only for trolling reasons).

I personally like the app idea for ordering food more then I do the vendors walking up and down the aisles. Even in college football games, where there are plenty of stoppages in play, I find them to be a distraction. Though not sure that the app food service wouldn't be, but it's innovative enough to be worth trying.

 

[Breakdowns]

Regarding the seat service i always though it would be cool if they had an app that i could get on that connected to the vending stations in the arena. i could order everything i want in the app. Put in my section, seat number, and row. Process the payment using apple pay, android pay, stripe, paypal. Once payment is accepted the orders show up on a screen in the concessions and workers fill orders and they have runners bring things to those seats. Alleviates people walking up an down all the stairs constantly, which i personally hate.

EDIT: If anyone who works for canes/PNC reads this hire me and i will build it for you.

Android or iOS? Or both?

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Android or iOS? Or both?

BlackBerry.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

If that's the case, I trust him. But we have to stop pretending that was the only player available, just because it was public knowledge.

I wasn't asking about other players though. You were clearly upset the Canes didn't go after Duchene to the point of even coming back to the forum after Duchene scored a goal in his first game with DUCHENE!!!!! (or something like that), and parlayed that into "Francis is too scared." My point in asking was genuine. Did you trusted Peters in that assessment, because if Peters thought Duchene was better served as a winger, maybe that's part of the reason they didn't make the move for him, vs. just being too scared. If you have a high value asset that you want to use as trade bait for a Center, you better make sure it's the right guy you get in return.

My point is that I wanted to deal a d-man for a center. I supported Duchene because he was the only top-6 center known to be available, but honestly, I trust Francis/Peters to get the right guy, assuming they eventually do anything.

Fair point that I agree with. I too support a move like that. I also trust Francis/Peters to get the right guy, which has been my point all along. I like Duchene and think he has more good hockey in him once he settles in with a team, but it sounds like Peters doesn't think he belongs in the middle. I assume (or may hope is a better word) that under Dundon they'll do something, via trade or UFA. Will be interesting for sure with Dundon in charge.

 

[NotOpie]

Fair point that I agree with. I too support a move like that. I also trust Francis/Peters to get the right guy, which has been my point all along. I like Duchene and think he has more good hockey in him once he settles in with a team, but it sounds like Peters doesn't think he belongs in the middle. I assume (or may hope is a better word) that under Dundon they'll do something, via trade or UFA. Will be interesting for sure with Dundon in charge.

....and the more I think about it, the more I feel a guy we might have a real shot at is Ryan O'Reilly. I think he would be a great fit here and this team would immediately be not only harder to play against, it likely gains offense.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

....and the more I think about it, the more I feel a guy we might have a real shot at is Ryan O'Reilly. I think he would be a great fit here and this team would immediately be not only harder to play against, it likely gains offense.

I would love ROR here. He's a better offensive version of Jordan Staal. I've posted this before, let Jordan continue to take the hard match-ups, free up ROR to be a bit more offensive, and shelter our 3C (Necas? or Rask?). It also limits other teams from getting favorable match-ups on the road because ROR and Staal can both take tough matchups. He'll help on the PP as well. I'd prefer Tavares, but still think that is a pipedream.

Then go after a winger in UFA a la, JVR, Kane, Neal, Bailey, etc... Probably too much to ask for in one offseason, but would be a strong top 9. Getting ROR or one of those UFAs would be a big improvement.

If we assume (maybe incorrectly) that Necas is on the team next year, do you think they start him at center? or do like Aho and start him on the wing to ease him into it?

 

[SaskCanesFan]

Does it seem likely that ROR will be traded this season? I'd like him, and think Tavares is probably a pipe dream. But on the 1% chance he'd actually come here I'd be willing to wait. Trade for ROR on July 2 if it doesn't work

 

[RodTheBawd]

I just don't get why Buffalo would trade him unless they're really trying to completely blow it up. I don't know enough about their pipe, but it seems to me they'd be ripping open a giant hole down the middle to plug some on the blueline. Eichel and ROR as a 1 and 2 is exactly what is required to have a perennial playoff contender.