Opinon Needed: Did I unknowingly break the law?

[charityd]

Last August Gary and I made a tool out of scrap lumber to train Louie in the proper stance for conformation. (See old thread here) A few days ago I received an email from the apparent patent holder/creator of a similar tool who told me her lawyer would be contacting me for posting on my blog August of 2008 about the homemade tool we made. Of course I will admit our tool was modeled after hers, but is a lot harder to use and adjust. Hers is much better, no doubt.

Is there a law against making something for your own personal use? She accused us of selling these which is a total joke. I am way too busy doing things with Katie and Louie to stand around and saw wood. I told her that and she didn't seem too willing to believe me. If I were selling them it would be pretty poor marketing to bury them in the August 2008 section of my blog?!?!! I do admit that it was probably wrong to use the name of her tool which I won't repeat again except to say the initials are HL, but I honestly never thought I was doing anything wrong. She said since I had a picture of Louie using our homemade tool on my blog I was obviously selling them. :banghead: If she bothered to look at the rest of our blog she would find that almost every boring, goofy or exciting little thing our dogs do is documented on there. It's just our little Newf biography designed to entertain and occasionally educate.

Sorry for the rant. This just shook me up. I would never have posted about this if I had any clue that it was illegal. I'm still not sure that it is. I'm guessing she felt threatened because we saved ourselves $195 by making our own tool. Maybe she was afraid others would do the same. :icon_stupid:

 

[Windancer]

well, glory be.....I never heard of such a devise..(looked back at your thread) I can't see that you have broken any laws as long as you are not selling them. I think she is threatening you,,,,,,To sue you would be a big ordeal...you would have to immediately counter sue,,,,to protect yourself..I didn't see where you mentioned her name, but that might have been what got her going. I am wondering how she could have a patent on them anyhow.

 

[charityd]

well, glory be.....I never heard of such a devise..(looked back at your thread) I can't see that you have broken any laws as long as you are not selling them. I think she is threatening you,,,,,,To sue you would be a big ordeal...you would have to immediately counter sue,,,,to protect yourself..I didn't see where you mentioned her name, but that might have been what got her going. I am wondering how she could have a patent on them anyhow.

I didn't mention her name ever... just the name of her product. I don't think she is intending to sue me. She strongly advised me to remove the post from my blog which I promptly did. I've never even had a speeding or parking ticket EVER, the idea of getting in trouble for something I wasn't even aware I did frightened me quite a bit. But the more I thought about it the more I questioned if I really had done anything wrong.

 

[MsKate]

Wow, this lady is way uptight. You haven't done anything wrong. If she wants to push the issue further, especially legally, it's going to take her a lot of time and money to prove that she has a case in the first place. I can see where you would be rather taken aback from her reaction. I don't think you've done anything illegal. Keep us posted if she continues to freak out.

 

[markoc]

I remember the post. I googled her product and thought why would I pay $200 for something I could make myself? (I never did.) She'd need to document her "loss" in a lawsuit i.e. provide evidence that you stole business from her which you didn't so I wouldn't sweat it. Maybe if her prices weren't ridiculous and she wasn't such an ass-crack she'd have some more sales.

 

[Windancer]

Really..put the posting back....tell her to call the "police"....you have nothing to worry about..'Ass crack' she is.....

 

[CMDRTED]

I remember the post. I googled her product and thought why would I pay $200 for something I could make myself? (I never did.) She'd need to document her "loss" in a lawsuit i.e. provide evidence that you stole business from her which you didn't so I wouldn't sweat it. Maybe if her prices weren't ridiculous and she wasn't such an ass-crack she'd have some more sales.

I agree. Mark I love the ass-crack comment:roflmao::roflmao:. Seriously, I might check with an attorney, but I see no harm to her, so she can't reasonably file a suit without showing any harm. Pluse since you didn't sell anything she also has no basis. Also I believe she would have to have a copyright on the product. Since your product is similar, but not identical, she also should have no basis to sue.:icon_stupid:

 

[4ondafloor]

Agreed.
I spoke to my brother in law (atty) about this Charity. She has no basis for a lawsuit. She would be wasting her money.
You did not violate any laws. They were "patterned" after a product and you made no attempt at resale. Personal use only. Posting them on your blog was not in violation of anything either.
Looks like the only business it cost her was yours when you made them.
I'd put it back up and tell her that her threats are idle. Then, I'd refuse to communicate with her again.

 

[Liisa]

She'd need to document her "loss" in a lawsuit i.e. provide evidence that you stole business from her which you didn't so I wouldn't sweat it.

I agree. She would have to provide some evidence that you were soliciting sales of your version. Hard to do when no evidence exists....

 

[charityd]

Agreed.
I spoke to my brother in law (atty) about this Charity. She has no basis for a lawsuit. She would be wasting her money.
You did not violate any laws. They were "patterned" after a product and you made no attempt at resale. Personal use only. Posting them on your blog was not in violation of anything either.
Looks like the only business it cost her was yours when you made them.
I'd put it back up and tell her that her threats are idle. Then, I'd refuse to communicate with her again.

Thanks so much everyone for all of your support! I feel a lot better now! I am going to put the blog post back up after I have time to modify it a bit.

 

[cedarvalleynewfoundlands]

I'm definitely not a lawyer, but I think she could file a lawsuit, but couldnt go anywhere with it. I have always thought you could sue anybody for anything (thus the frivilous lawsuits you sometimes see), but to win a lawsuit is something else entirely. I would think a lawyer would explain to her that her chances of winning a lawsuit were nonexistent, so it wouldnt make much sense to file one. I wouldnt lose any sleep over it, but also wouldnt go out of my way to aggravate her more......You wouldnt want to put yourself in the position of having to hire a lawyer yourself to defend yourself against a frivilous lawsuit. She sounds like an idiot anyway, and sometimes idiots can cause normal, decent people lots of problems.

 

[SheilaT]

Just don't use her name for the device. She does have legal rights if she truly does have a patent , but you're not making them to sell, so you are legally allowed to use what is in her claims for personal use, only.

 

[zennewf]

That is so lame. Within the realm of a "hobby" like dogs, which is a community and not entirely profit oriented, the culture should be to offer a product like that for sale, and also to offer the plans free to anyone who wants to DIY (do it yourself). She's just trying to maximize her profit and it's gross given the context.

As a contrast, within the "attachment parenting" world, some moms make baby carriers to sell to other moms. Or they will make cloth/fleece diapers to sell. But they often also include the directions on how to do it yourself on their website. The philosophy is ... we are all here to help each other. If you aren't crafty or don't have the time, I will sell you the item and profit by it. If you do have the time ... here the plans! Peace.

Anyway, I would reinstall your blog post.

Liz

 

[Tricia2]

This belongs on the Frivolous Lawsuit of the Day web. What an idiot, just ignore her foolishness. Refuse to communicate with her, it's her burden to prove patent infringement

 

[SheilaT]

Good grief....I just looked up the patent...it does exist. However, she only has 10 more years before ANYONE can make and sell these things. Her claim is kind of ridiculous, but legally, it holds up. Barely. She's trying to protect her income from these things. If she was smart she would sell the plans and increase her income in the next 10 years before free enterprise takes over.

 

[KodysGrandma]

Relax Charity, she's just trying to frighten you (which she did). As many have pointed out it's expensive to pursue a law suit and unless she has discovered that you and yours have lots of money it wouldn't be worth it. It's the deep pockets thing again.

 

[KS Newf]

Debra's post makes total sense. I think this lady is not just uptight but plenty Nutsy KooKoo. She is looking for trouble here, and I also agree, do NOT communicate with her further. I am sorry about this for you!!

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Thanks so much everyone for all of your support! I feel a lot better now! I am going to put the blog post back up after I have time to modify it a bit.

And maybe put a statement, I made this one, but if your want to buy a similar product, contact that person. Now she gets free advertising

 

[NewfDad]

If you had left the post with how to build one up, yes. Keep in mind that this is this persons intellectual property. They paid real money and spent real time getting a patent. It isn't cheap. Along with the patent they have the responsibility to defend the patent. What this means is that if they let you post the invention on the web without license then they can't keep some large company from using your instructions making millions on the device without any compensation to her or anyone else. Defending a patent is all or nothing, not defending it is how you lose a patent to public domain. Were you evil, no. Was she evil for asking a cease and desist, I don't think so, it is just the only way she can defend the patent. As always IMHO.

Art

 

[noblenewf]

The woman is a moron. Plain and simple. I don't agree with you Art. First of all...how did she even find Charity's blog? Is she a stalker or something? Charity, I don't recall you putting instructions for how to build one of these inventions on your post? I do, however, think it's a good idea to give her due credit on your website. But if you want to make something for personal use...it's entirely up to you. You mean to tell me no one has ever found something and decided "I can make that myself!!"??? That's ridiculous. We've all done it and no one should be sued for it!