Anx said:

apparently so. he is the one that filed the application. i dont know if londell does IP law, only entertainment law, two very different areas.

http://www.bestlaw.com/at...helzel.htm

David, the attorney, used to be in the band "The Ocean Blue".

Just a side note.

txladykat said:

ah. good point.

OMG. Turnabout is fair play. This suit is ridiculous. There is no confusion between the two -- that's quite a stretch. And while I do hope NPG Music Club is victorious, I hope it causes Prince & Company to give serious thought to the practice of legally lashing out against anything that displeases them. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

A publishing imprint squabble wouldn't normally affect the operation of a music/merchandise artist Web site.

And, if anything, NPG's suit likely will reinforce Prince's apparent belief that people are out to bilk him. Don't foresee any reforms in that area..

just for the record....NPGMC is not being "sued" for money damages...there has only been an "Opposition" filed to their request for trademark of the name npg music club. if the company previals, all it does is stop prince from selling books/publications/magazines under the name npg music club.

txladykat said:

makes me wonder if this was why "3121 magazine" never materialized.

It's like like Apple Corps and Apple Inc.

But I dont recall any formal announcement that NPGMC is going into publishing, does anyone else? 3121 Magazine? Maybe I'm out of it.

However why are they shut down since they havent actually ventured into publishing yet?

Pre-emptive backdown?

Wouldn't having the title Music Club as part of the name help differenciate the 2?

The lawsuit makes sense, but I'm not making the connection to the online music club? Why could the music club not continue to function as it was? Couldn't the website continue to run as it was while the book stuff go on hold until the matter is resolved?

Sorry, I'm bad when it comes to legal stuff.
[Edited 7/7/06 12:57pm]

i saw this the other day
but didn't think it'd come of much
since the full name of the music club is...
"NPG Music Club"
and "Nature Publishing Group" don't have a music club
tho Prince has won similar lawsuits himself regarding "paisley park"
but i'm sure there are many more reasons than this for the club closing down

Y'all some nosey muthafuckas

the only reason that the opposition was filed is because in NPG Music Club's application for trademark, they included selling books as one of the reasons.

This is what they listed for goods and services in their application (taken from the trademark office website):

"Goods and Services IC 035. US 100 101 102. G & S: online retail store services featuring clothing, jewelry, wearable accessories, posters, concert programs, books, music recordings, video recordings, and related merchandise; promoting the sale of goods and services of others through the distribution of information online and promotional contests"

the highlighted parts is what got them. Nature Publishing Group (also known as NPG) is alleging that there could be confusion if NPG Music Club sells "books" or "publications" on their site...the confusion being that the "average consumer" could mistake Nature Publishing Group as being the author of any book or magazine sold through NPG Music Clug.

As for halting the club pending the outcome of the litigation, that is normal in the legal field. They were served with the opposition on July 3rd.

make sense now?
[Edited 7/7/06 13:21pm]

i still don't understand what this has to do with "NPG Music Club"
i can see them saying you can't use the name "NPG Publishing"
but what does Nature Publishing Group have to do with a music club??
most lawyers would've had the site back up within a day
no... there's something more going on here

Where's L. Londell when we need him?????

Snap said:

you kinda gotta know the ins and outs of the legal field to understand it. i know it doesnt really make sense, but because of the fact that NPG Music Club said they would be using the name for selling books is the reason the opposition was filed (read the lawsuit, it explains it in there).

We had a client once that was a chiropractor and they had this picture of a guy dressed in brown shirts and brown shirt bending over to pickup up a package and hurting his back in the process. The client got sued by UPS because UPS claimed that the use of the "brown clothing" would lead the average consumer to believe that they were depicting a UPS worker injuring himself.

Kinda reminds me of the old case Bootsy's Rubber Band vs. some country group called the Rubber Band. They sued him & I'm not sure if he won or lost.....

woogiebear said:

I saw him on the news talking about how Li'l Kim has paid her dues and handled it like a lady and is ready to join society the other day... (caption said "Li'l Kim's Attorney")
I guess he's busy with his other client right now.

Lynn

But can't P look @ Londell w/ those eyes & say, "I want you to be MY lawyer... exclusively..."

Does P's spell not work on him??

The National Portraie Gallery should have a go as well then if they are all out to get him.

This is a silly case.

woogiebear said:

he's with LIL Kim and Micahael Jackson now...prince too broke for him

woogiebear said:

Yep, MJ just hired him...

Revolution said:

Here we go, what's MJ done now

GoldiesParade said:

He's suing himself for damage done to his face... it's the smartest move he's made in years



.
[Edited 7/7/06 14:24pm]

So what if: Nature Publishing Group started using the "NPG" in 1999

what about



Fall 1995

luv4all7 said:

My sarcasm detector is on, but apprently is malfunctioning.

You ARE aware of Prince's own numerous journies into the land of litigation, yes?

Anx said:

I dunno. Some small animal rights group or some such thing got the World Wrestling Federation to drop "WWF" for "WWE".

ccollin88 said:

Although, if you believe the rumors Mike is about tapped out and, well Lil Kim isn't even in their league.

the basis of the lawsuit is rather silly, but SO FUCKING karmic, imo. three words for prince:

CalhounSq said:

MickG said:

Maybe u should have done a little research 4 urself mick before making the above comment.