[rumori] ETOY vs. ETOYS case makes headlines around the world


guyATdigitaloss.com
Fri, 10 Dec 1999 13:43:02 -0800


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                            ETOY vs. ETOYS case makes headlines around the
world

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                            In a stunning event, 'net artist collective ETOY
shut down it's
                            primary website etoy.com, the result of a hostile
legal battle
                            initiated by online toy seller etoys, and a
successful preliminary
                            injunction claiming among other things, trademark
devaluation,
                            infringement, unfair competition and illegal stock
operation. All
                            of this despite the fact that etoy existed online
a full 2 (two)
                            years prior to etoys.com and has no similarity to
the toy site.

                            This is a case of a corporate bullying and
agressive tactics in
                            what could become an important legal case on
"reverse domain
                            name hijacking". If the preliminary injunction
holds and etoys wins,
                            it would mean any corporate power or someone with
a lot of money
                            could essentially force other domain's out of
business, even if
                            those domain's existed prior to theirs. It's
obvious that this would
                            be understandable for cybersquatters, or those who
secure domain
                            names such as microsoftwin.com in the hopes that
they can be paid
                            huge sums for the site from Microsoft or in cases
where there is
                            understandably some confusion between two parties,
such as
                            estamps.com and estamp.com which both compete for
the same
                            area in commerce.

                            BUT etoy.com is never and has never been
interested in toys, there
                            are no references to etoys.com nor is there any
interest or attempts
                            to confuse the public in any way, shape or form.
This action by
                            the greedy (and understandably nervous amidst
their competition and
                            weaker-than-expected sales and overvalued stock: 6
billion market cap!)
                            e-tailer should not be tolerated. There is already
a huge number of
                            articles and the etoys stock is (really!) going
down at the moment,
                            ever since this story broke in the Village Voice a
week ago. Now today
                            there's an article in the New York Times, tomorrow
is the Washington
                            Post and National Public Radio, not to mention
European press.

                            WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO SELL ALL etoys (symbol NASDAQ:
etys) STOCK
                            in protest of this outrageous act of hostility.
BOYCOTT ETOYS BY
                            PLACING A BANNER ON YOUR SITE FROM THE LINK BELOW.
ENCOURAGE
                            ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO DO THE SAME. THE
FUTURE OF
                            INTERNET FREEDOM IS AT STAKE. DO YOU WANT THE NET
TO LOOK LIKE
                            TV? ETOY NEEDS YOUR HELP AND LUCKILY THERE ARE A
LOT OF WAYS
                            YOU CAN DO THAT. VISIT http://www.eviltoy.com just
one of MANY
                            protest sites for the cause of ETOY.

                            RTMark.com has just announced today a new fund for
those who wish
                            to help the cause of etoy. Visit their website to
see how you might
                            be able to contribute, even in a small way, it
will help. The etoy artists
                            have already had to incur almost 20,000$US in
court costs and the
                            next hearing will be on 27 DEC. They need all the
help they can get,
                            and not just financial, there are MANY ways you
can help fight this
                            visit http://www.rtmark.com for more details.

                            For those of you who don't know, etoy.com is the
work of a European
                            collective of artists who's conceptual work
centers around the idea
                            of a "net-based" art corporation. They function
under the umbrella
                            of etoy and etoy.com has been their sole platform
since 1995, a full
                            two-years before etoys.com even existed. The
etoy.AGENTS play around with
                            people's preconceived conceptions about corporate
agendas, the
                            nature of the internet and fame. Etoy survives via
it's sponsors,
                            which are more often art grants and other (real)
corporations who
                            enjoy their work and humour. After several
individuals, museums and
                            corporations asked if there was anything they
could "buy" from etoy
                            and hang on their wall, the group decided that
since etoy does'nt "sell
                            products, etoy IS the product", they would
initiate the idea of selling
                            "shares"
                            which is a play on the idea of investing in art,
furthering their agenda
                            and a humourous attempt to comment on the 'net
stock hype. Etoy
                            "shareholders" include many famous and important
figures in both the tech/art
                            world and government (the Chancellor of Austria is
an etoy.SHAREHOLDER).
                            And furthermore, the museums and collectors
receive an original "share
                            certificate" which is a slick 3-color laser print
mounted to aluminum and
                            signed in an official "public action" which also
is a media/press event.
                            Etoy won the prestigious Golden Nica award at Ars
Electronica in '96, the most
                            prestigious tech/arts prize.

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