A company calling itself Killer Mobile has threatened to take legal action against TG Daily.
Why, you ask?
Well, a recent article written by our own talented Mike Luttrell bears the apparently objectionable title: “Zynga wants to make the killer mobile app.”
Seems quite innocuous, right?
Well, not according to Josh Alner, who demanded TG Daily remove all references to the phrase “Killer Mobile.”
“You are probably unaware Killer Mobile is a registered trademark we own (and have owned since 2008). Your use of the Trademark in the article title is misleading & dilutive,” Alner claimed in an email.
“We wanted to take this first step before sending a formal cease and desist letter. Further steps can include legal action, including recouping of legal costs, actual and punitive damages.”
Now we here at TG Daily were initially shocked a mobile company would publicly flaunt its ignorance of basic trademark law.
But that was before we took a closer look at the Killer Mobile website and came across this lovely little note at the bottom of the page:
“All Rights Reserved – Infringe on our copyright and you will be hunted down like the dog you are!”
Now I don’t know about you, but I would certainly be somewhat hesitant to do business with a corporation that proudly displayed such an aggressive slogan on its front page. And I doubt PETA would be amused either.
But I digress.
Fortunately, Josh Alner lacks any legal basis for demanding the removal of the phrase “Killer Mobile” from our website.
Simply put, TG Daily is protected by the First Amendment and the Lanham Act, which shields “all forms of news reporting and news commentary” from such claims of trademark dilution.
So no, Mr. Alner, we will not be removing the phrase “Killer Mobile” from TG Daily.
