Billionaire Richard Branson Called a Trademark Bully by the Trademark Law Professors of University of Washington, School of Law

Westborough, MA, 2020-Jul-30 — /REAL TIME PRESS RELEASE/ — Virgin has targeted to attack over 300 small companies & non-profit charities. Common sense says that the word ‘virgin’ cannot be owned by one individual or organization but Virgin has deep pockets to destroy those who dare to fight for their rights.

“Opposing trademark registrations in unrelated fields is the classic behavior of a trademark bully,” says Mike Atkins, an attorney at Atkins Intellectual Property who teaches trademark law at the University of Washington, School of Law.

That’s why it came as a surprise that Branson decided to send a threatening cease-and-desist letter (where he tells the small start up to either commit a business suicide right away or else Virgin lawyers will destroy it within 30 days) to I Am Not A Virgin, a small eco-friendly denim label, claiming that the company’s name infringes on his copyright, as the Telegraph’s Laura Hubbert reported on the case.

Richard Branson’s lawyers demanded environmentally friendly start up jeans label ‘I Am Not A Virgin’ to cancel their trademark (a trademark they have been lawfully granted and owned for almost 4 years before they received the threat letter from Branson – reports Ms. HUBBERT in her article.

“I guess I could rename my jeans Not Made By Richard Branson” – comments sarcastically the founder of the brand. Branson also demanded the small business owner cease to sell current stock of the jeans and removes them from the stores which for a small business is a financial suicide and a loss of all start up investment costs essentially leading to the end of a business.

“Common sense says that the word ‘virgin’ cannot be owned by one individual or organization. In other words, it’s stupid to claim a colour of your own, let say a word. Branson, who’s also well known for his support of environmental causes, apparently has failed to see that” – says Anderson Antunes in his Forbes article about Virgin’s abuse on small entrepreneurs.

Attorney at law, Widerman Malek, summaries in his comments: “If Richard Branson has his way, it might be. ” He adds: “Although sometimes considered a bully in the trademark office, they remain unapologetic for their stance.”

According to multiple news reports, in the past several years, the Virgin group has targeted over 300 companies who used the word Virgin in their name, URL or marketing slogan. Unfortunately, many of these 300 companies are small businesses who do not have the resources to fight back against a multi-billion dollar company with hundreds or even thousands of lawyers on their retainer. These small businesses almost always settle simply because they cannot afford to fight.

Widerman Malek brings up some of the companies Virgin attacked:

  • Virgin Vapors – a small vapor company located in California whose owner currently refuses to change its name despite being threatened by Virgin.
  • The owners of domain names virginthreads.com, virginpublishing.com, virginstar.net, and virgincigar.com. The Virgin group alleges cyberpiracy for any company using the name virgin in their domain, even if it is not their business name.
  • Author Cristina Crayn, who named one of her published books, “Tales from the Virgin Vault.”
  • Virgin Valley Cab – a cab company in the Virgin Valley geographic location of Northwest Arizona, who recently came to an agreement with conglomerate to stop using the name.
  • Las Virgenes United Educational Foundation – a nonprofit organization in the Las Virgenes School District. The Virgin Group attempted to block the trademark application. Evidently, any virgin will meet their criteria – no matter which language it’s in and if destroying charities for children is to take place.
  • I Am Not A Virgin – a New York clothing company which specializes in creating and selling denim products.
  • Virgin Air, a small airline in the American Virgin Islands, which no longer exists under this name due to Virgin’s lawsuits.
  • CBS Studios, who may be opposed by the Virgin Group in an attempt to trademark the name Jane the Virgin, which they will use as a sitcom name.
  • Last year, the Virgin group attempted to stop Valle Grande from trademarking a phrase that contained the words “virgin olive oil”, using the argument that Valle Grande currently only sells vinegar.
  • In 2004, the conglomerate sued a tiny apparel retailer called Virgin Threads in federal court in New York; the retailer dropped the name a year later as they could not afford to battle with Virgin any longer.
  • VIRGINIC – Purity Perfected – small cosmetics brand, selling “beyond organic”, handcrafted, allergy-free face creams in small batches. Virgin has been suing them with malicious, aggressive litigations, on the ongoing basis from 2018-2020 in multiple countries to starve them financially to business death, as Virgin did with other start ups. Interestingly, Virgin abandoned selling cosmetics years ago making public statements on their own website that they have no intention to sell beauty products. As of July 2020, VIRGINIC still refuses to be bullied and to give up their name.

The statement raised by all victims by Richard Branson and Virgin Group seem to be constant: they don’t feel it’s morally right to give up their start-up brands, hard work and dreams, just because there is a bully that says so.

“Why is Richard Branson trying to put us out of business?” – denim jeans company founder Peter Heron asked in this video posted to YouTube where he reads the harassment letter he has received from Richard Branson.

His video got over 13,000 supporters signing under it with their own name, encouraging Mr. Heron to not give up. Sadly, his brand was forced to surrender a year. Well done, Virgin lawyers, one more target destroyed.

Media contact:

Andrew Griffin
info@thebureauofinvestigativejournalists.com

Virgin’s unethical business practices against small start ups and non-profit foundations

Louisville, Kentucky, 2020-Jul-16 — /REAL TIME PRESS RELEASE/ — When it comes to big business versus small business, the deck is, and always has been, heavily stacked in favor of the giants, making sure it stays that way. Yes, there will always be David and Goliath stories held up as the reason for hope in these battles, but reality dictates that they are almost insurmountable obstacles in the path of a small entrepreneur.

There is, however, a more insidious and corruptive side to the competition that few, if any, really see or understand at all. The legal teams.

Companies like The Virgin Group and Sir Richard Branson retain the type of law firms that see no ethical issue in destroying anything and anyone on their way, no matter the cost, the merits and the human lives and dreams destroyed along the way.

Take billing, for example. Virgin Enterprises uses Norvell IP and A. A. Thornton, type of companies that sees fit to charge by the half hour for anything that they do, including a single phone call, running up bills of around $300 per call. Yes, you read that correctly…$300 PER CALL! Equally absurdly, they charge the same to write a letter, to attend a meeting or to send an email!

 

Ok, so Virgin and Sir Richard is worth billions, they can afford these costs and who cares? It’s their choice and their wallet, right?

Well, no. They make their pray pay for it.

The thing is, as the relentless (and oftentimes frivolous) stream of trademark infringement lawsuits are filed across the globe, those costs are, almost exclusively borne not by Virgin, but by the small business that they are making their claim against.

Take the case of Wyoming start-up, VIRGINIC LLC. Virgin decided, as they have done on so many occasions in the past, that they were unhappy with the UK Intellectual Property Office awarding VIRGINIC LLC their own brand trademark “VIRGINIC”. For a little context, let’s not forget that this is the same company that sued a Virgin Olive Oil producer, the TV show “Jane The Virgin” and even a Non-profit Educational Foundation, “Las Virgenes” for children, staffed entirely by volunteer parents! If you’re like most people, this alone can leave anyone speechless. Clearly, Virgin is not afraid to throw their litigation budget around even against non-profit children care foundations.

So, Virgin took umbrage to the idea of a company VIRGINIC LLC, regardless of the fact that the UKIPO had already awarded their trademark for their name to them. Virgin attacked and yet again the UK courts decided that there was no case to be heard and VIRGINIC should keep their own trademark.

Virgin lost the case, and the subsequent appeal, with VIRGINIC being awarded the princely sum of £300 in costs, and that, in any sensible judicial process, should have been that. However, Virgin’s lawyers managed to get the UK High Court of Appeals to agree to review the appeal of the case which, upon doing so, intrestingly awarded in favor of Virgin this third time around.

And here is the fun part; When VIRGINIC, a small “David” went up against the behemoth “Goliath” of Virgin and managed to not only show that common sense is still alive and well in some legal systems, but managed to do it on a shoestring budget, whilst a mammoth task and stupendous result given the odds, it appears that the ultimately necessary penny-pinching that all start-ups are likely to be forced to adopt, is the largest chink in their armor.

The reason for this is simple: Virgin lose and the judge awards costs in the order of £300 to the start-up. £300 which Virgin never actually saw fit to pay, regardless of the fact that they spend so much time in courtrooms arguing that their rights are being infringed upon and crowing for justice. This in itself is a pointer towards where this all goes wrong. You see, they cry foul and plead for justice as if the courtroom is a sacred place where all shall find their truth. In reality, when that truth is contrary to their opinion, they simply disregard the orders of the court and find somebody else to cry to.

Now, what happens when, at the third time of asking, they manage to find themselves a “friendly” judge? Well, their costs are awarded against VIRGINIC in the sum of…

Ready for this…?

£33,000 + £10,000!
With no right to appeal any further, conveniently.

So, Virgin “loses” and the bill is £300. I would guess that the lawyers charging $300 to make a phone call would probably be happy to pay that off themselves with the cash that they dropped down the sofa last night. However, when VIRGINIC loses, all those cups of coffee that the world’s most expensive secretaries were making suddenly add up to a sum of £43,000, so exorbitant, so utterly defiant of anything even approaching a reality that is in any way sustainable, that all suddenly becomes so very clear.

Virgin and, more importantly, Virgin’s lawyers LOVE finding random reasons to drag volnurable, small businesses (and apparently non-profit foundations too) into a courtroom because it is a no-loss situation for them. They literally don’t even bother paying the measly costs generated if they lose (Virgin pays) whilst running up such absurd bills themselves that, if they win, the small business is basically financially crippled to the point where it either ceases to exist or exists only for the purposes of paying off the legal bills. Small educational foundations like “Las Virgenes” for children, staffed entirely by volunteer parents are a no match with this malice legal practice backed by deep pockets of Virgin.

Is there a happy ending here? VIRGINIC is well off its knees trying to write one as we speak. Keep your fingers crossed and maybe the Wyoming case will prove more uncorrupted justice system in the US than the UK one.

Media contact:

Zac Andrews
International Consortium of Investigative Journalism
Louisville, Kentucky

SendBestGift.com delivering Rakhi and Friendship Day Gifts during Lock Down

Gurgaon, India, 2020-Jul-15 — /REAL TIME PRESS RELEASE/ — Coronavirus pandemic has presented numerous challenges in front of the world since it’s outbreak at the fag end of the last year. As the world wrestles with these challenges, many green shoots have emerged as well. Having been locked up in our own homes, it seems like the fast paced life of the twenty-first century has come to a standstill. This much needed break has made everyone realize how disconnected they were with their beloved ones. These days loved ones are certainly on everyone’s mind. People cannot go out and hug their loved ones; however they sure can present their beloved ones with heartwarming gifts to reassert their love.

SENDBESTGIFT, one of the leading online gift shops, has taken upon itself to ensure that people can reach out to their near and dear ones from anywhere in the world. Keeping the upcoming festive season and COVID-19 lockdown in view, the website has updated its product portfolio and has upgraded its services to meet the gifting needs of millions of households in the nation.

Gifting has been used since ancient times to express the feelings of love, care and support. Today, people need love, care and support more than ever. And thus, the importance of gifting multiples mani-fold in these testing times. It now forms an important part of social lives. And why just social, it treads into the realms of personal life as well.

With just a few weeks left for Raksha Bandhan 2020 and friendship day, the company has started its Rakhi and Friendship day gifts delivery services despite the coronavirus advisory issued by the government. The website offers a wide array of unique gifts for friends. These friendship day gifts include friendship band, greeting cards, personalized gifts, cakes, chocolates, soft toys, combination gifts, and much more. For Rakhi gift ideas for brother & sister, the online gift portal offers designer Rakhi, chocolates, Rakhi with dry fruits, flowers, gift cards, sweets, cakes, Rakhi gift hampers, and so on.

“Online gifting is the future of gifting in India. This pandemic has shown us how important it is to go digital, do as much as we can from our homes. Understanding the need of the hour, SENDBESTGIFT has stepped up to the task of connecting hearts. We strive to deliver the best services to our customers and doing so has become more important in these difficult times. We have geared up for the massive demand during the upcoming festival season. From exclusive and extensive gift collections to a varied range of delivery services like the same day Rakhi gifts and same day friendship day gift delivery, we are ready with it all. Come shop with us, use our services to reach out to your dear ones and we promise to deliver excellence on your behalf. Stay home, stay safe and take care of yourself and your beloved ones,” says the founder and Chief Executive Officer of SendBestGift Narender Kumar.

The website has a very systematic approach to gifting and thus making it easier to place an order for gifts. It offers gifts for best friend boy as well as gifts for best friend girl. The website believes that there is a bond of friendship in every relationship and thus it offers friendship day gifts for girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, and husband too.

A delight for people looking to indulge in hassle free online gift shopping, the website offers separate sections for Rakhi gifts for brother and Rakhi return gifts for sister. Sisters can go to the Rakhi gifts for brother and choose gifts for their brothers and brothers can visit the Rakhi return gifts for sister section to place an order for the same.

SendBestGift has a range of gifts for various occasions and festivals. From numerous Rakhi variants like kundan Rakhi, kids Rakhi, rudraksha Rakhi, mauli Rakhi, beads Rakhi, zardosi Rakhi, fancy Rakhi and other to a plethora of Rakhi with gifts like Rakhi with dry fruits, Rakhi with sweets, Rakhi with chocolates, and Rakhi with personalized gifts, the website offers it all. In fact, this online gift shop offers pair Rakhi for brother and sister-in-law like the lumba Rakhi for bhaiya bhabhi.

Customers can send Rakhi with sweets, place an order for Rakhi with dry fruits, purchase Rakhi with cakes and soft toys or buy Rakhi with chocolates online from the comfort of their homes. The fast and precise provision of online Rakhi delivery ensures that the gifts are delivered to their respective destinations within the specified time.

Similarly, the website boasts of a diversified assortment of Friendship day gift ideas to help everyone commemorate the bond of camaraderie. One can use the platform of SENDBESTGIFT to titillate the taste buds of his/her friends with delicious friendship cake, amaze their best friend with a beautiful friendship flower delivery, present them with thoughtful personalized gifts, or satiate the cravings of his/her dear friend with an online friendship day chocolates delivery.

The website provides a customizable range of delivery options as well. Their delivery options include normal gift delivery, same day gift delivery, fixed time gift delivery and the midnight gift delivery in India. Customers can shop for gift for friendship day or other occasions and opt for any of these delivery options. In addition, customers can customize these delivery options to meet their personal gifting goals.

About Us

SENDBESTGIFT is a trusted online gift store serving its loyal customers since 2015. The company aims for 100% customer satisfaction and takes a customer centric approach for the same. Driven by a passion for innovation and a promise to achieve operational excellence, the company has come a long way from where it started. Today, the company is present in all parts of the nation and has many satisfied customers all over India. The website offers same day Rakhi delivery and same day gifts delivery in more than 1000 cities across India. In addition to it, the company offers midnight gift delivery in more than 100 cities. Operating round the clock, the company intends to make online gifting a household name.

Media contact:

support@sendbestgift.com
+91-9555151500

While major games dropped cases because of social separating conventions, sportsbooks are discovering approaches to keep players inside the action during this pandemic

Escazu, Costa Rica, 2020-Jul-04 — /REAL TIME PRESS RELEASE/ — With betting accessible on eSports, recreated sports, one-on-one rivalries, for example, boxing or tennis, horse dashing, computerized gambling club gaming, live vendor club, and even political decision results, individuals are as yet wagering as a type of entertainment.

Studies have demonstrated that during times of financial downturn, war, or emergencies, individuals go to diversion to ease tension and stress. Books, films, betting, computerized gaming, and internet based life are on the whole ways that individuals “look at” of their present reality, regardless of whether for only a couple of long stretches of relief.

Likewise, considers show that resigned grown-ups, whose every day exercises may be the most like jobless residents or residents who are protecting set up during social removing conventions, are bound to bet for incitement and for fatigue alleviation as opposed to for winning cash. In interviews, card sharks have shown that weariness is among the essential sparks for taking part in betting activity. With barely any games accessible to guess on nowadays, associations like PayPerhead.net, a sportsbook programming organization, have gotten progressively inventive in giving their clients the betting amusement their players crave. Simulated sports and eSports, two newcomers to the betting field of play, were at that point set to become multibillion-dollar enterprises some time before COVID-19 upset customary games betting. eSports (additionally called electronic games, e-sports, or Esports) is a type of rivalry by computer games.

Esports regularly appear as sorted out, multiplayer computer game rivalries, especially between proficient players, independently or as teams.

Unlike esports, which are constrained by people, reproduction sports are involved exclusively of games between a PC’s AI (man-made brainpower) and are commonly founded on customary games, for example, b-ball or football.

In expansion to the previously mentioned advanced occasions that speculators can wager on, PayPerHead bookies are likewise ready to offer pony race wagering, computerized gambling club gaming, and live seller club gaming on blackjack, baccarat or roulette.

Unlike conventional games wagering, the new advanced gaming, horse hustling, and online club gaming permit players to wager on a much lower financial plan, and can some of the time convey huge payouts. Therefore, PayPerHead.net bookmakers are seeing this downturn in sports wagering as extra invaluable, on the grounds that already sports-wagering just players are currently adding an entirely different collection to their standard betting activities.

As an ever increasing number of individuals look the web for job telecommute openings, new bookies are finding a totally different specialty in the online sportsbook and club industry. With unbelievable rate drops (PayPerHead.net is without offering administration until major U.S. sports start once more) during this coronavirus emergencies, presently is an incredible opportunity to start.

About PayPerHead.net:
PayPerHead.net, established in 1997, is the business’ driving per head online bookie programming, giving easy to use devices and unequaled client support to autonomous bookmakers around the world.

Media contact:

Peter L. North
Media Director
https://payperhead.net
+1 855-296-9171

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