Victory in Ajax TM Fuss

[Martha Luehrmann <MRLuehrmann@LBL.gov>]

Dear Folks

A victory!!  Remember when Jamie Love asked us to check into the domain name
problems of Ben Kite at http://www.ajax.org  ?  Well, he won his fight against
Colgate Palmolive, who wanted to stop him from using one of their trademarks,
Ajax (you know, "the foaming cleanser").  Below is a write-up of his story
from Ben, and below that is an email I just got from Colgate Palmolive.  Items
in brackets are my additions.

-- 
Martha Luehrmann
Technology Transfer Department
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
1 Cyclotron Rd., MS 90-1070
Berkeley, CA 94720
Tel 510-486-4303
Fax 510-486-6457
MRLuehrmann@LBL.gov

Check out our technologies at http://www.lbl.gov/Tech-Transfer/
_______________________________________________________________

                            Ajax's Colgate-Palmolive Victory Story
[From: http://www.ajax.org/ajax/colpal/   (10/22/98)]

It was so and it was not so... 

Beginning 24 September, there was a draconian attempt to seize control and
ownership of the good and honorable name AJAX.ORG, a domain that was created
for no commercial purposes, but rather for the free exchange of information,
ideas, and cool pictures of Bill Gates dressed up like Hitler.

The multinational corporation Colgate-Palmolive (Makers of Ajax, Colgate,
Palmolive and Science-Diet brands) had made an attempt to shake us from our
hardy domain through the use of lawyer-style correspondence and threatening
words like "attorney's fees", "costs", "panties", and "fines". Words scary
enough to strike fear into the heart of any litigation-fearing American. Here
is most of the correspondence between Colgate-Palmolive and me:

       [link to] Letter one from Brett Parker of Colgate/Palmolive
       [link to] Letter two in response from Benjamin C. Kite
       [links to othewr letters in the fray]

My pirate hardies and I thought, "It should not be that easy, should it? A
little sabre rattling and fare-thee-well AJAX.ORG?" We didn't think so. Just
because we can't afford attorneys in Brooks Brothers' suits and Armani
underwear doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to defend our legal rights.

In fact, based on the legal advice we'd received from more than ten different
attorneys, there was basically no way in hell that Colgate-Palmolive could
claim that the "Ajax" trademark was a defensible one. Anyone who's been alive
in the United States can probably think of a local business that uses the name
Ajax. It's been considered a generic mark for so long, that I'm sure you all
can remember Wile E. Coyote purchasing products from "Ajax" along with "Acme"
and "Ace".

After pberry posted an article on slashdot.org linking to a petition to
accumulate names of those who disagreed with Colgate-Palmolive's policy. In
addition to 1368 signatures on the petition, the readers of that fine
newsmagazine started to give Colgate-Palmolive some very spirited opinions,
some of which are listed below: 

       [Links to various support letters]

In addition, a friend of mine, Tal Klein of Trancenden, made a very moving
gesture: 

       [link to] Letter from Tal Klein to Tracenden fans
       [link to] Letter from Tal Klein to Bret Parker

All of these gestures and measures were not in vain. In the end, it seems, all
of these opinions led Colgate-Palmolive to reconsider their stance. Late in
the day on the 14th of October, the same day as the slashdot posting, we
received this letter of gracious surrender from Colgate-Palmolive: 

       [link to] Letter from Scott Thompson of Colgate-Palmolive 

So, in the end, we see a multinational company making the right decision, but
only under significant pressure from consumers. THis doesn't necessarily mean
you should surrender your boycott, though. A Mr. Kirsch makes an excellent
point that even though this matter is closed, there are far more pressing
problems with Colgate-Palmolive as a company. Here's a resource if you want to
know more. I want to thank you all for your support in any case. This couldn't
have been done without grass-roots support from the public.

Slashdot.org may still have its article running about this matter. 

Ajax.org would also like to offer its many thanks to Vaporware Publishing for
their time and effort in defense of this domain. 

===============================================================

Subject: Colgate Website Consumer Query
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 08:08:06 -0400
From: Colgate-Palmolive_Consumer_Affairs@colpal.com (Colgate-Palmolive
Consumer Affairs)
To: MarthaL@california.com

Dear Ms Luehrmann

We are writing in response to your communication regarding the ajax.org 
domain name.

We hope you can appreciate Colgate-Palmolive's duty to protect it's[sic]
trademarks.  These valuable assets protect you and other consumers by  making
sure you get the genuine article when you purchase our product.

Upon further examination, however, we have concluded that the current use of
the ajax.org domain name would not confuse consumers that the source of the
website was The Colgate-Palmolive Company.  Consequently, we have advised the
website owner that our request to Network Solutions, Inc. to suspend the
ajax.org domain name has been withdrawn.

Sincerely,
Colgate Palmolive Consumer Affairs
IMM/jmg
1740068A
 &d@ (s0B

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