Author Topic: BitReserve looking to steal the rest of our BitAssets  (Read 15211 times)

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Offline onceuponatime

http://altcoinpress.com/2015/01/bitreserve-facing-potential-court-battle-over-alleged-trademark-theft/

Bitreserve Facing Potential Court Battle Over Alleged Trademark Theft

Well, that should now get us some name recognition  :)
Nice work Fire Brigade!

Offline WildWex

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Offline Akado

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Offline mint chocolate chip

Another positive spin is that all these are not being trademarked:  bitUSD (they want bitdollar), bitEUR (they want biteuro), bitWTI, bitCNY, etc.  I would be content with taking the "forex / trading" versions and letting them have the "normal word" versions, if it came to that.

The only collision we have is bitgold. There's lots of bitcoiners who would fight that one though.

If the only collision is bitgold then I suppose it isn't really much of an issue .. and bitgold would likely be their weakest case.  I'm not sure how trademarks are fought.. usually we read about patents.

A slightly different spelling is still trademark infringement since the average consumer would not know the difference...not an expert but if they get bitdollar or biteuro etc. they can claim most variations are infringing...especially if they are even remotely in the same industry. 

sumantso

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Do you think it is worthwhile to contact some bitcoin media outlets about this (coindesk et al)?

It's worth a try.

Our best approach is to try get more BitAssets on the front page of CMC & publicly own our brand in our market imo.

While BitCNY broke into top 100, BitUSD market cap went down.

Would be incredible if we can get something like BitGOLD or BitOIL in the top 20 - that will put all the debate to rest, even legally I guess.

Offline nz

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CEO of bitreserve, Halsey Minor .. owes over 10 million in taxes to California.

"As of 2012 the state of California listed Halsey as the #1 on the list of the state's Top 250 Delinquent Taxpayers"

I would not risk trusting this guy as the counterparty for my investment with this kind of liability hanging over his head.

....just a small issue of being THE biggest delinquent taxpayer in the 8th largest economy in the world.

Has anyone done a background check on Bytemaster? Oh thats right, my BitAssets dont have any counterparty risk  :P
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Offline lovejoy

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Here's the wikipedia on the CEO of bitreserve, Halsey Minor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halsey_Minor

Apparently he's into filing lawsuits. He currently has a number of outstanding cases as well as cases against him. Also, he filed chapter 7 bankruptcy less than 2 years ago (May 2013).... looks like he supposedly owes over 10 million in taxes to California.

"As of 2012 the state of California listed Halsey as the #1 on the list of the state's Top 250 Delinquent Taxpayers"

I would not risk trusting this guy as the counterparty for my investment with this kind of liability hanging over his head.

LOL, wow! this guy...  If you read the Wikipedia entry you see a pretty clear pattern to his public life thus far.  --> Plays big, wins, loses bigger... repeat.  He has left a wake of unfinished projects, mansions in disrepair, hotels stuck in limbo, expensive artwork unpaid for, and on and on... what are the odds this will end any differently?

On the other hand, the guy is ultra litigious and volatile.  So, the wise money is on slow and steady wins the race.  IMO we avoid direct confrontation of any kind and just let him act out, what might very well be his final epic implosion.  It's just a shame it will harm those who are lured in and spit out.

Great detective work on the trademarks!  We do need to cover our ass to the extent necessary / possible.

Offline gamey

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Another positive spin is that all these are not being trademarked:  bitUSD (they want bitdollar), bitEUR (they want biteuro), bitWTI, bitCNY, etc.  I would be content with taking the "forex / trading" versions and letting them have the "normal word" versions, if it came to that.

The only collision we have is bitgold. There's lots of bitcoiners who would fight that one though.

If the only collision is bitgold then I suppose it isn't really much of an issue .. and bitgold would likely be their weakest case.  I'm not sure how trademarks are fought.. usually we read about patents.
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Offline CryptoPrometheus

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Another positive spin is that all these are not being trademarked:  bitUSD (they want bitdollar), bitEUR (they want biteuro), bitWTI, bitCNY, etc.  I would be content with taking the "forex / trading" versions and letting them have the "normal word" versions, if it came to that.

The only collision we have is bitgold. There's lots of bitcoiners who would fight that one though.

Agreed. The 3 letter all caps forex versions sound much more "official"
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Offline CryptoPrometheus

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Here's the wikipedia on the CEO of bitreserve, Halsey Minor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halsey_Minor

Apparently he's into filing lawsuits. He currently has a number of outstanding cases as well as cases against him. Also, he filed chapter 7 bankruptcy less than 2 years ago (May 2013).... looks like he supposedly owes over 10 million in taxes to California.

"As of 2012 the state of California listed Halsey as the #1 on the list of the state's Top 250 Delinquent Taxpayers"

I would not risk trusting this guy as the counterparty for my investment with this kind of liability hanging over his head.
"Power and law are not synonymous. In fact, they are often in opposition and irreconcilable."
- Cicero

Offline toast

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Another positive spin is that all these are not being trademarked:  bitUSD (they want bitdollar), bitEUR (they want biteuro), bitWTI, bitCNY, etc.  I would be content with taking the "forex / trading" versions and letting them have the "normal word" versions, if it came to that.

The only collision we have is bitgold. There's lots of bitcoiners who would fight that one though.
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Offline gamey

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Meh this needs to be addressed.  This could cause a huge headache if they start suing merchants who use certain bitassets they happen to get a trademark on.  The blockchain can operate outside jurisdictions but websites still do not.

There really are 2 issues.  Making the Bitcoin community aware of things and then the trademark issue. I think it'll become known sooner than later so it'd be nice to figure out if we can do anything about the trademark issue.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2014, 01:02:20 am by gamey »
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Offline Empirical1.1

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Do you think it is worthwhile to contact some bitcoin media outlets about this (coindesk et al)?

It's worth a try.

Our best approach is to try get more BitAssets on the front page of CMC & publicly own our brand in our market imo.

Offline liondani

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But of the £6 million they raised on crowdcube, £5.8 million was given by one investor it seems.
So it's more like just a PR stunt to say they're including many small investors.







Offline gamey

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Any crypto journalists who like scoops we could contact or bloggers who do this sort of thing..  I can't think of any offhand that do investigative work.  I'm at least familiar with a lot of crypto outlets and I can't think of anyone specifically.  Anyone else have thoughts on the matter ?
I speak for myself and only myself.