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>Well, this is as good a time as any to announce
>that I need to change my web page, so if you've
>got my online help wp "Writing for Short Attention
>Span Theater" bookmarked, it will soon be changed.
>I've received a cease-and-desist order from the
>/registered/ trademark holder of the phrase
>"Short Attention Span"!!!!!! No, I am not
>kidding. And my poor little wp has been sitting
>there for at least five years!
I checked on the USPTO website, thinking this seemed weird - "short
attention span" is a well-known phrase... and found the owner was the SHORT
ATTENTION SPAN FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL, and they filed their trademark in
March 1995, and have been registered since January 1996. I regret to say
that it seems to me they *may* have a point - you write for "Short attention
span theatre", which might well be considered sufficiently close to "short
attention span film and video" that they have a case that you're infringing
their trademark. (Unless you've been using "short attention span theatre"
since before March 1995?) Anyway, not-a-lawyer, and would agree with what
someone else said that it might be worth while taking some real legal
advice - the phrase is certainly in common use, and (not being familiar with
either the festival or with your website) it could be that there is no
possibility of confusion or that you are using it legitimately within its
common-use meaning. (Digital could trademark DIGITAL, but it couldn't stop
people using the word "digital" without reference to the company Digital.)
HTH,
Jane Carnall
Apologies for the long additional sig: it is added automatically and outwith
my control.
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