I'm no lawyer, but I hope you get someone to help you out. However, given this case of giant corporation versus hardworking developer, the former usually wins.
Sorry, I personally don't think you have a case. IMDb is a very strong trademark in my mind, I don't think you could get away with using it at the start of your domain name.
Not having used the API, but seeing that does use movie information (using rotten tomatoes). I think that it's going to be difficult to claim fair use of quite a distinctive acronym in the same realm.
Paying a lawyer for an hour to confirm this will save the author of the API time and effort.
Rename it and move on, be your own brand. There's no need to coattail if you have a great product.
imdbapi.com could refer to, like he said in his response, literally thousands of different acronyms, such as the new website title: "Integration Manager Design Baseline Automated Physical Inventory" - amusing ;)
Who's to say it isn't for an Instant Messaging Database API service?
"The disclaimer you have added doesn’t change this result. First, ordinary consumers don’t read fine print and so the potential for confusion is unaffected. Second, even a prominent disclaimer doesn’t allow you to adopt a competing product’s name as your own."
This is also rubbish as he clearly isn't adopting a competing products name as his own.
IANAL but I think so long as he isn't using the IMDB name or logo, they haven't got a leg to stand on. Having their trademark somewhere within the domain name is not enough.
This hurts regarding the history of IMDB which had large portions contributed by volunteers in the early days:
"Users were invited to contribute data which they may have collected and verified, on a volunteer basis, which greatly increased the amount and types of data to be stored or for which sections needed to be added. As the site thereby grew in content exponentially," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imdb#History_before_website
So IMDB is a community effort that has been commercialized.
Would be nice if the current 'owners' would respect the history of their own site and play nice with another community effort in the same field.
While I agree they don't particularly play nice with the community, they do still let people download the raw data for non-commercial use at least. Not that they promote that fact much. http://www.imdb.com/interfaces/
12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt
saying, 12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it
shall be the first month of the year to you.
12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the
tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb,
according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 12:4 And
if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour
next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls;
every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye
shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 12:6 And ye shall
keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole
assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
----
That's nice, but not very miraculous in the here and now.
Someone is wondering about paying God so He rescues you in the future. There is a passage which says "offer praise as your sacrifice and I will rescue you in misfortune."
The Holy Spirit is mainly known as a lawyer in the New Testament. :-)
If He talks to you like He talks to me, I like natural conversation, but I always press my luck and ask for a response without offering.
He said something about honest measures... which means you get-out what you put in. I think I get more.
Jesus said to pray in secret. There's lots of room to be a better man than I. A word of caution on being Holier than thou -- God likes praise, not being unsung!
----
God says...
30:17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of
five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a
mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto
you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon
you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait
for him.
30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep
no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry;
when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
30:20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the
water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a
corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: 30:21 And
thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way,
walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the
left.
----
Shut-up India-nigger
God doesn't give you the time of day.
God says...
bitterly effected grandchildren transferring you obtained
pitied orbs remembrance recounts perceives unhealthiness
conquer Afric awesome bands honours resemble emerge enjoinest
created infected Saviour immense ravish adversary artifices
Panama variable passions pastimes mayest Portugal wives
superior who's_to_say rivers You_get_what_you_pray_for
simple hey_Mikey_he_likes_it bestow better pure family
compactedst whirlpool cellar Essence XI injurable rank
broad Circumcise wandering neck 20 Could age _ Newsletters
glorying Say among make establish unkindness preachings
to-morrow brim-full consent vowed bare adultery manufacturing
personally statue texts conceive antidote beck offerings
confessed succession livelihood monastery Shut helper
befalls recollecting affected youthfulness their boughs
I'm_beginning_to_wonder Prof experiments combine pause
begs_the_question failure_is_not_an_option Ivory_Coast
worshipped shortened rove judgements thereupon ointments
meant succeeding draws Central stormed Homer scourgedst
don't_you_love_me overcharged conversations single-hearted
periodic lion candle startles thereupon owed agreed meditating
ohh_thank_you commendable cross exact spiritual
----
I want a video of a cockatoo listening intently, pausing, cocking it's head and entering a squawking-fit. Maybe, chasing a cat around the kitchen.
We all know that big brand names has early access to new released domain names to protect their name and avoid domain squatting - they pay premium for that and this sounds fair. But its nothing illegal in having imdbxxx.com - which btw is still available. I might be wrong but if this is the case - imdb (in this case) should make sure that they own all domains , which might be associated with their brand (like imdbapi.com for example). Not securing them and requesting free transfer from anyone who dared to buy one isn't anything else but corporate bulling.
12 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 28.6 ms ] threadI'm no lawyer, but I hope you get someone to help you out. However, given this case of giant corporation versus hardworking developer, the former usually wins.
Paying a lawyer for an hour to confirm this will save the author of the API time and effort.
Rename it and move on, be your own brand. There's no need to coattail if you have a great product.
imdbapi.com could refer to, like he said in his response, literally thousands of different acronyms, such as the new website title: "Integration Manager Design Baseline Automated Physical Inventory" - amusing ;)
Who's to say it isn't for an Instant Messaging Database API service?
"The disclaimer you have added doesn’t change this result. First, ordinary consumers don’t read fine print and so the potential for confusion is unaffected. Second, even a prominent disclaimer doesn’t allow you to adopt a competing product’s name as your own."
This is also rubbish as he clearly isn't adopting a competing products name as his own.
IANAL but I think so long as he isn't using the IMDB name or logo, they haven't got a leg to stand on. Having their trademark somewhere within the domain name is not enough.
I Must Design Better API
"Users were invited to contribute data which they may have collected and verified, on a volunteer basis, which greatly increased the amount and types of data to be stored or for which sections needed to be added. As the site thereby grew in content exponentially," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imdb#History_before_website
So IMDB is a community effort that has been commercialized.
Would be nice if the current 'owners' would respect the history of their own site and play nice with another community effort in the same field.
children of Israel go out of his land.
12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, 12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 12:4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
----
That's nice, but not very miraculous in the here and now.
Someone is wondering about paying God so He rescues you in the future. There is a passage which says "offer praise as your sacrifice and I will rescue you in misfortune."
The Holy Spirit is mainly known as a lawyer in the New Testament. :-)
If He talks to you like He talks to me, I like natural conversation, but I always press my luck and ask for a response without offering.
He said something about honest measures... which means you get-out what you put in. I think I get more.
Jesus said to pray in secret. There's lots of room to be a better man than I. A word of caution on being Holier than thou -- God likes praise, not being unsung!
----
God says...
30:17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
30:20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
----
Shut-up India-nigger
God doesn't give you the time of day.
God says...
bitterly effected grandchildren transferring you obtained pitied orbs remembrance recounts perceives unhealthiness conquer Afric awesome bands honours resemble emerge enjoinest created infected Saviour immense ravish adversary artifices Panama variable passions pastimes mayest Portugal wives superior who's_to_say rivers You_get_what_you_pray_for simple hey_Mikey_he_likes_it bestow better pure family compactedst whirlpool cellar Essence XI injurable rank broad Circumcise wandering neck 20 Could age _ Newsletters glorying Say among make establish unkindness preachings to-morrow brim-full consent vowed bare adultery manufacturing personally statue texts conceive antidote beck offerings confessed succession livelihood monastery Shut helper befalls recollecting affected youthfulness their boughs I'm_beginning_to_wonder Prof experiments combine pause begs_the_question failure_is_not_an_option Ivory_Coast worshipped shortened rove judgements thereupon ointments meant succeeding draws Central stormed Homer scourgedst don't_you_love_me overcharged conversations single-hearted periodic lion candle startles thereupon owed agreed meditating ohh_thank_you commendable cross exact spiritual
----
I want a video of a cockatoo listening intently, pausing, cocking it's head and entering a squawking-fit. Maybe, chasing a cat around the kitchen.
This is funny. Close enough. My...