FW: Hawkwind domain

[Andy Gilham]

Yeah, Dave was really keen to work with me and Doug.  "Fit of pique" my
arse.

-- Andy

www.andygilham.com

-----Original Message-----
From: XXX [mailto:boclist at hwind.globalnet.co.uk]
Sent: 04 October 2001 12:20
To: email at andygilham.com
Subject: Fw: Hawkwind domain



To Andy Gilham
Webmaster www.hawkwind.com

CC. Doug Smith


4th Oct 2001



 We write in relation to the use and operation of the Internet Domain
www.hawkwind.com



It is our contention that “Hawkwind” is a long founded, well-established,
and universally recognised branding mark of the music group ‘Hawkwind’. It
is further argued that to avoid misuse, profiteering and deliberate
misrepresentation, any and all usage of such a trademark should be strictly
controlled by, and expressly limited to, ‘Hawkwind’ as the recognised
‘owners’ of the mark, unless express written permissions are granted by the
band, or their officially authorised agents.



We recognise that the Internet domain www.hawkwind.com has for some time
been operated by yourselves as a resource database for fans of the group.
However, while this situation has to a degree been tolerated for an extended
period, please note that at no time has any form of permission been given,
either directly or by inference, to agree the usage of the Hawkwind brand
name in this manner. Furthermore, no permissions have ever been sought, or
issued, to agree to the proclamation clearly indicated on your site banners
that it is “the official Hawkwind website”. Additionally, no further
agreement has ever been made for your site to act as an officially
sanctioned outlet for news, information and opinions on our behalf.



We strongly contend that the latter situation is both confusing and
extremely misleading to visitors of your site, and may well prove
potentially damaging to the group, particularly as there appears to be a
growing degree of content within your pages that is, in our opinion, not in
the band’s best interests.
Of particular concern are items such as numerous references to illegal
‘bootleg’ material as well as certain ‘spin-off’ bands that are clearly
profiteering by the usage our name. We wish to make it clear that we totally
object to being misrepresented in this manner, especially as we have no form
of control over such misleading content. At the time of writing, there are
many sensitive issues contained within your pages that may impact to varying
degrees on currently ongoing, or possible future court actions.



Furthermore, due to a combination of your site’s high-level .com status and
your clearly misleading declaration of being the ‘official’ Hawkwind
website, most of your site visitors and linked WebPages are mistakenly under
the impression that all of the material contained on your pages contains
views, opinions, data and information that has been officially sanctioned by
us, which has certainly never been the case. Permission for the inclusion
and use of copyright graphics, pictures, lyrics and other associated
material has also never been sought or granted at any stage, and we ask that
you immediately remove all material that may be in breach of such a
copyright.



Given the detail outlined above, and to protect our future interests, we now
intend to exercise our right in Law to lay claim to any top-level internet
domains using the Hawkwind branding mark which contain any content relating
to the activities if the band. We refer you to the recent ‘One In A Million’
case (1997), which defines the Law in where ‘passing off’ is proved. Please
refer to; http://www.nic.uk/news/legal/oiam-judgement.html for further
detail on this issue, and also the ‘Pitman’ case (1997) where dispute
challenges were further defined;
http://www.nic.uk/news/legal/pitman-judgement.html



We ask that within the next ten working days, you make, and confirm in
writing, all the arrangements necessary to transfer the ownership and
control of the Internet domain name www.hawkwind.com to ourselves.



Following your positive response, the full technical specifications of the
relevant domain name servers etc. will be forwarded to assist you with the
process of transfer. Note that copies of this, and all future correspondence
in relation to this matter will also be forwarded to the domain registrars
in accordance with their defined grievance procedure.



Please note that failure to explicitly comply with the terms and conditions
as outlined above will result in immediate legal action, which will not be
in the best interests of either party.



Yours sincerely

HAWKWIND:      Dave Brock

                            Ali Davey

                            Richard Chadwick

                           Huw Lloyd Langton

                            Simon House