Big forum upgrade ahead - what you need to know!

[Variac]

Fellow Members,

We have had to change the name of the "Trading Post" forum to the "Swap Meet" forum.

Another organization uses that term as their name and has threatened to take action against us if we continue to use it.

We aren't changing for the sake of change- I liked Trading Post but we really had no choice.


Mark Cronander
Variac

[Moondog55]

That wouldn't be the organization from Australia owned by Telstra by any chance. They own the Australian Trading Post.

Trading post is a generic term delete the capitalization

We have inherited a distasteful American habit of suing and threatening legal procedures from imported CEOs over the last decade.

I like Trading Post too, but I do feel that any challenge to the use of the name would not stand up in court, just put the words DIY in front and it becomes exclusive to our use, some idiot even tried to enforce a certain trade mark over here and wanted us to stop calling ugg boots ugg boots

[Duffy Moon]

Originally posted by Variac
Fellow Members,

We have had to change the name of the "Trading Post" forum to the "Swap Meet" forum.

Yuk! I understand the reasons for the change, but to me 'swap meet' sounds too much like 'swap meat', which I really don't want to do! Why not just 'classified ads' or 'classifieds' or 'private sales' or something? Even 'junk yard' would be preferable (and wryly amusing to boot).

[boywonder]

You also have "flea market". On the east coast of the USA we have "flea markets" out west they are "swap meets". Same thing.

[Duffy Moon]

Flea market would also be acceptable.

I cannot see how anyone thinks they have the right to the phrase 'trading post' anyway. It's not like it's the name of the website! Don't let them win - they're bluffing when they say they'll take legal action.

[planet10]

Originally posted by Duffy Moon
I cannot see how anyone thinks they have the right to the phrase 'trading post' anyway.

It is hard to believe, but a company in Australia does have it trademarked.

dave

[kimbal]

In Australia;

I can buy the local Trading Post paper in my state of Queensland ( which has their own version of the same thing) and its still available in Victoria where I use to buy it as Kid. It sells everything you can think of - just about. It's a news paper version of Ebay you could say and a lot more friendly to deal with too. I also see newspapaer columns with the same name selling everything in the smae manner as the paper.

I use to attend Ham Radio Swap Meets every so often as they were so called in Victoria Australia and go to the old Trash & Treasure Markets on the weekends where I would pick up old tube radios for a few dollars and anything else I wanted.

If the words are registered in your country of origin as a name you use for business or a website, I can't see in any reasonable way any one can have a monopoly on the words or phrase "Trading Post".

It's like the use of Copywrite every Tom, Dick and Harry puts in on their work, but few register it, and if so they bluff about threatening legal action. Few take notice of copywrite these days since all the issue with blew up a few years ago in the music industry. Same again with legal patents. Change some thing everso slightly and then get a patent on it - it's that easy. Everyone does it - at least in America.

I'd say - ask the oppostition group to produce written proof of their claim to ownership and if they can't within a say 28 days, then use the name and register it. Maybe a loophole such as useing it as a business name will get around the matter. Maybe a registered & certified Solicitor/ Lawyer's letter could push the matter and it covers you should it go to court.

[Moondog55]

I just checked; they have "Tradingpost" registered.
One word; with a copyright logo.

They do not "own" the two words trading & post " only the combined one word usage.
I think that so long as you do not run those words together that it is a BS claim.

We have many registered businesses here that use the words Trading Post as part of their business name, just put the DIY in front and "No Problemo"

Damn Sol Trujillo, for a Mexican he made a damned good Yankee.

Just so you don't think I'm prejudiced in Australia "Mexican " is used by people in NSW and Queensland to denote Victorians as we come from South of the river border

[kimbal]

Yeh our old imported mate Sol ! What would Australia do without him ?

Couldn't lift a finger unless he got paid $30 million dollars plus.

But as Telstra told us - if you pay properly you'll get quality employees - other wise if you pay peanuts you'll get monkeys.

The reality is Telstra overpayed him a fortune and still got a Monkey! So who got screwed ? It wasn't Sol.

[Moondog55]

e did leave behind a corporate culture of confrontation, non-cooperation and a willingness to sue at the drop of a hat didn't he??

He even went so far as to stop our emergency services using the crisscross directory, I wonder if the families of the people who died waiting for ambulances have thought about suing him for wrongful death yet???