Gaijin Entertainment Demands Gaijin.com, Which Predates Them And Doesn't Infringe Their Trademark

from the trademark-abuse dept

Tue, May 7th 2013 10:03am — Mike Masnick

In the latest example of extreme trademark abuse, video game company Gaijin Entertainment is not just claiming a trademark over "gaijin" but using it to demand the domain name Gaijin.com, which was registered by Brandon Harris back in May of 1995. The legal nastygram that the company sent is quite incredible, suggesting that Harris registered the domain later and is somehow infringing on their mark:

It came to our attention that you registered and maintain a website www.gaijin.com (“Infringing Website”) that infringes Gaijin Mark. By maintaining and offering to public your content via the website, i.e., Infringing Website, having the same domain as Gaijin Mark, you create consumer confusion and mistake as to the source, sponsorship and/or affiliation of the Infringing Website and Gaijin, thereby infringing Gaijin Mark.

Luckily, Harris has Mike Godwin (yes, that Mike Godwin, so get your Nazi references in early) as a lawyer, and he quickly sent back the following excellent response.

Dear Mr. Goldstein-Gureff,

Please be advised that my client, Brandon Harris, disputes your trademark-infringement claim in every particular.

That is the most polite way to state how vigorously we dispute your attempt to assert flat ownership of the word “gaijin,” a word so well-established in English that it is an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Currently, I’m advising my client to publicize your demand letter, so that the entire game-consuming public will be made aware of your client’s overreaching trademark assertions. In addition, we will of course continue to make clear that Brandon Harris’s website in no way gives rise to any kind of marketplace confusion of the sort that American trademark law is designed to address.

In the interests of allowing you and your client to gracefully retract your claim, we have chosen to refrain from publicizing your demand until you respond to this message, provided that you respond no later than close-of-business Monday. Since I am currently in DC, Eastern time applies.

–Mike Godwin

P.S. I understand that your clients are possibly Russian nationals. You may wish to explain to them the scope and limitations of the Lanham Act in the United States.

–MG

Obviously, they did not retract the claim in time, and thus, the trademark bullying is now public.

Gaijin Letter Re Gaijin Com As (PDF)Gaijin Letter Re Gaijin Com As (Text)

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: brendan harris, domains, gaijin, mike godwin, trademark bullies, udrp
Companies: gaijin entertainment

54 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

S. T. Stone, 7 May 2013 @ 10:09am

And the Japanese all had a laugh about how a bunch of gaijins ended up fighting over the word "gaijin".
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Zakida Paul (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 10:10am
  
  Re:
  Funny and insightful. Well done, sir.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 12:11pm
  
  Re:
  And the most insightful comment goes to... someone who doesn't know what gaijin means.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - S. T. Stone, 7 May 2013 @ 1:32pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Gaijin is a Japanese word meaning "non-Japanese", or "alien". The word is composed of two kanji: gai (外), meaning "outside"; and jin (人), meaning "person" � thus, the word could also, in some contexts, be translated into English as "outsider".
    
    I know Wikipedia doesn�t exactly count as the most reputable source of information these days, but�
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Keroberos (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 1:43pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Since this is also the translation used in the trademark listing, I'll go with that definition.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - PaulT (profile), 8 May 2013 @ 1:36am
    
    Re: Re:
    What do you think it means? I remember taking some Japanese classes a few (OK, a lot of) years ago where I learned that the definition for that word was essentially "foreigner". So Stone's comment in correct with that definition in mind.
    
    Which definition do you use?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Watchit (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 3:42pm
  
  Re:
  Personally, I am offended you didn't shoehorn in a nazi joke in there...
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - S. T. Stone, 7 May 2013 @ 8:47pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Too easy. Low hanging fruit's for suckers and OOTB.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 10:10am

Why?
Why give them time to rescind? That just gives them the opportunity to target people who don't have Mike Godwin on speed dial without leaving a wake.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Sunhawk, 7 May 2013 @ 12:01pm
  
  Re: Why?
  I imagine it's mostly to look gracious in any upcoming court action.
  
  "See? We disputed it vigorously, but we were kind enough to not go public about it without giving them a chance."
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 10:12am

"Luckily, Harris has Mike Godwin (yes, that Mike Godwin, so get your Nazi references in early)..."

Not True Techdirtian would ever resort to such cheap logical devices.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 10:13am
  
  Re:
  You know who's a true Techdirtian? Hitler, that's who.
  
  ...
  
  What do I win?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Baldaur Regis (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 10:20am
    
    Re: Re:
    Three boxes of SABAM laundry soap, delivered to your door by gaijin ninjas.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Ninja (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 10:37am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      I'm laughing hard at your comment because SABAM sounds like the Portuguese word for soap (sab�o). Have my personal funny vote dear sir.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Ninja (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 10:20am
  
  Re:
  According to techdirt trolls Mike is the evil reincarnation of e-Hitler that came to take all those poor musicians and grocery stores workers in e-concentration camps (most commonly referred as bittorrent swarms). Or something. The e- prefix gives that XXI century feel that is missing from Godwin Law.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Oblate (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 10:16am

The next target for Gaijin Entertainment: ge.com

Fortunately, they're in luck due to the explosion of new TLD's: gaijin.asshats is still available.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2013 @ 5:39am
  
  Re:
  No, next will be GaijinPot. gp.co.jp
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ninja (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 10:16am

I am very interested in how this will make all its way to Hitler. Oh wait....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 10:45am
  
  Re:
  I'm thinking that Time Travel or Necromancy are the most likely options at this point.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

out_of_the_blue, 7 May 2013 @ 10:18am

Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
Meets Techdirt standards for game-related, lawyers, and obvious villain to boo for the ginned up "two-minutes hate" -- heck, this villain is even GOLDSTEIN!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Rich, 7 May 2013 @ 10:35am
  
  Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
  You aren't supposed to drink wood-grain alcohol.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Goldstein, 7 May 2013 @ 10:35am
  
  Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
  I... What?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 10:48am
  
  Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
  uhhh....
  
  I propose a new category to go along with week's "funniest" and "most insightful"
  
  it will be called "Wtf troll... just... wtf"
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - gnudist, 7 May 2013 @ 10:53am
    
    Re: Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
    Most insightful posts tend to be responses to trolls so you kind of have that now since there's a link to the original thread/commen(and thus the troll) in the insightful awards
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 10:59am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
      yea but what insightful comment can follow this magnificent piece of insanity??
      
      This is on level with watching an old man demand his child be returned to the bank from a flower in the middle of a busy street.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 12:21pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
        Trying to use logic and reason with that one is like trying to get Sheldon Cooper to comprehend sarcasm.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 11:33am
    
    Re: Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
    I think that rewarding the trolls by pointing them out would only further encourage them and new ones.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 12:03pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
      The trolls aren't in it for the recognition. They're in it for the money.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - G Thompson (profile), 8 May 2013 @ 2:25am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
        They should be in it for the lulz since Blue gets a LOT of them - admittedly about him/her/it though
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- D, 8 May 2013 @ 11:48am
  
  Re: Not only anomaly, but no action beyond a letter.
  OOTB - go stuff yourself and stop making yourself a laughing stock. You must be really, REALLY thick-skinned (or maybe just thick?) if you don't realise that everyone is laughing at you. Your comments are not needed.
  Oops - just fed the troll. Never mind, I could do with a bit of sophisticated entertainment, which I certainly won't get from OOTB.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Noah Callaway, 7 May 2013 @ 11:08am

Gaijin Entertainment, not Gaijin Games
Just as a heads up to any gamers that may be considering sending off angry e-mails: There are several games companies with the name Gaijin. The offender in this case was Gaijin Entertainment (ent.com/en/games/navigation/57/).

There is another company that would be easy to confuse with this action. Gaijin Games (makers of the excellent BitTrip runner games) are not involved in this action as far as I can tell.

Just want to make sure we all point our angry in the right direction.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- t3rminus (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 11:17am
  
  Re: Gaijin Entertainment, not Gaijin Games
  Augh! Beat me to it by 6 minutes.
  
  +1 for directing Awesome Vibes at Gaijin Games
  +1 for directing Angry E-Mails at Gaijin Entertainment
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 11:18am
  
  Re: Gaijin Entertainment, not Gaijin Games
  Good call Noah, Gaijin Games are good people.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Samuel Abram (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 4:47pm
    
    Re: Re: Gaijin Entertainment, not Gaijin Games
    Gaijin Games sure are good peeps. I met their dev team at Blip Fest 2009. Some of buddies in the Chip Music scene (like Anamanaguchi, Minusbaby (who did the artwork for my album The Aftermath) and Bit Shifter) have their music in their Bit.Trip games.
    
    My favorite would have to be Bit Shifter's "Strange Comfort".
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Samuel Abram (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 4:49pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Gaijin Entertainment, not Gaijin Games
      Sorry, "Some of buddies" should be "Some of MY buddies".
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
t3rminus (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 11:14am

Of Note...
Of note is that this is "Gaijin Entertainment" (http://www.gaijinent.com/), makers of the MMO-flying-sim War Thunder, not "Gaijin Games" (http://gaijingames.com/), makers of the BIT.TRIP series.

You'd think people would be more confused with these two, as opposed to some random website that just happens to use http://www.gaijin.com...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Nastybutler77 (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 12:07pm
  
  Re: Of Note...
  No kidding. Why isn't GE suing GA for trademark infringement? Or vise versa. That would at least make sense. More sense than this, anyway.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - PaulT (profile), 8 May 2013 @ 2:55am
    
    Re: Re: Of Note...
    Quick kneejerk assumption? They just want the domain name, and this is easier/cheaper than trying to get them to sell it through normal channels (or they've already failed to buy it and this is their response).
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 13 May 2013 @ 4:30am
    
    Re: Re: Of Note...
    Could it be because they're sitting on the GaijinPot?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 11:31am

if Congress hadn't have made such a fuck up of the patent/trademark/copyright laws, this situation wouldn't arise. if Congress were to correct the fuck up they made in patent/trademark/copyright laws, these situations would then be few and far between. i appreciate, however, that it may mean a reduction in their bank accounts, but they should think of the smaller amount of work that would then be involved for everyone. would that not be a better option??
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- ChrisB (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 12:09pm
  
  Re:
  Trademarks are not about protectionism, but about protecting consumers. There is not much wrong with trademark laws.
  
  Patents/copyrights are totally messed up and are grinding the technology industry to a halt, and justifying massive spying on individuals. They should be curtailed or sh!tcanned altogether.
  
  I'm clarifying because they tend to get lumped together and are not the same.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 1:12pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Unfortunately Trademark infringement cases do not start with "Could the consumer be confused?". Just ask all the Olympic Pizza's that lost their name to the IOC!
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - John85851 (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 6:23pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Cases like the Olympic Pizza/ IOC don't have much to do with customers confusing one company with another, but with the customer assuming there's an endorsement. Obviously Olympic Pizza has nothing to do with the IOC, but the IOC doesn't want people to think the pizza place is an official sponsor when they haven't paid the licensing fees.
      
      This is the same reason why no one can say "Super Bowl" any more because they fear the NFL will sue them for using those words without paying the licensing fees.
      
      Sorry to get off-topic.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Bergman (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 9:08pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      And yet, Washington state still retains both the Olympic Mountains, the city of Olympia and Mount Olympus. Apparently a U.S. state is too big for the IOC to bully.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 11:33am

Domain Seizures
Now imagine what would happen if warrantless seizures of allegedly infringing domains were the rule of law.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 11:55am

I'm impressed!
Twenty-four comments in, and not a single one spouting the "oh, they had to do this or they would lose their trademark" BS.

Well done, Mike - I think your educational efforts are starting to pay off!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Killer_Tofu (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 12:22pm
  
  Re: I'm impressed!
  Which means he is more effective than any RIAA or MPAA education campaign to date.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Keroberos (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 1:32pm

Poetic Justice
I think a suitable punishment for these guys would be for the court to order them to change their name from Gaijin Entertainment to Baka Entertainment, then there'd be no possibility of confusion about what kind of asshats you're dealing with.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 1:49pm

I really hope they come after me for trademark infingment on My tatto, that simply reads "Gaijin". this will be fun.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 4:25pm
  
  Re:
  Just for you they will claim patent infringement instead, ya know cause the method of applying Gaigin causes the tattoo artist to, ya know, use Gaigin. :)
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 4:31pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Gaigin=Gaijin, twice. Sheesh! And Clavell is one of my favorite historical fiction authors.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ryunosuke (profile), 7 May 2013 @ 5:03pm

well... might as well
despite, no, because Mr. Godwin is involved... this seems like a case for... Copyright Nazis
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2013 @ 10:57pm

Just uninstalled War Thunder, after popping into about 20 instant actions and letting everyone know what was up in broadcast. Fortunately I never spent any money with them but I was reaching the point where I likely would have had I kept playing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
kitsune361, 8 May 2013 @ 12:39pm

There are so many ways...
There are so many ways to pull this off without being a jerk.

If they REALLY wanted the domain name they could have offered to buy it for the ludicrous amount of money they're paying their legal council. They could come up with an agreement to buy the domain if the guy ever stops using it (some sort of right of first refusal if he ever sells the domain). If they were really interested in disambiguation they could have asked for a link on the guy's page ("if you're looking for Gaijin Entertainment...").

Instead they sic the lawyers on a blog that's been around since nearly the dawn of the commercial internet. /facepalm

If they're so worried about such a tarnishing of their mark, why haven't they gone after Gaijin Games yet?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]