Anyway, I love Gaby's response and love that this correspondance was made public. Poor Richard, the more he trues to keep the name, ds max out of googles keyword search, the more he is smacked in the face with the power of the world wide web. I love it and think that Innovage, the former DS Max is going to meet its match.

As for anyone saying he has a valid request. NO HE DOESN'T! He might as well have bought the name Enron. He bought a company name, (for what, I might add.) that is going to be slandered in search engine after search engine. How silly!

devilspie

My guess is that if a sane person had written with a coherent demand like, "Please make it clear that Midtown Productions is not affiliated with the former DS-Max, but rather with its spun-off subsidiary Innovage" (or something), Consumerist might have complied.

However, the crazy Captain Queeg-like tone of the first email pretty much ruled out a reasonable solution. People, if you want a polite, professional response, send a polite, professional demand!

VenusCloacina

With people like him no wonder those companies go rotten...

campero

Ben Popken

Yes, I realize you have stated the new name at points but it is not done uniformly. For example, in The Job Interview, Brian starts out talking about Midtown but then switches to a DS-MAX story about his friend. A reader who hasn't been following the story would assume Midtown is DS-MAX which Richard contended is not true. But I guess the fact that Nu-Life owns DS-MAX and Innovage makes this an irrelevant argument.

Scott

Michael

I doubt it's the same Innovage, but I don't know that for a fact. This same camera, by the way, is sold under several other brand names, including Phillips and Vivitar. Kinda sounds like something a sleazy company would do.

crankymediaguy

What about the poor Italians?
* Same snazzy attention to detail
* Same snappy salutes
* Same atrocities, death camps and trampling of peoples underfoot
* Good GODS, they killed a freaken DEITY (if you're Rastafarian)
* Same Big Father getting (terminally) spanked by "the kids"

> Yet nowhere does Il Duce enter the Godwin debate.

>> Benito wuz robbed

Trai_Dep

He's wearing a pinkie ring AND what looks like a pinstriped velvet jacket. Game over. Gaby Darbyshire by a landslide. Not only is she smart and beautiful, her name is fun to say!

Sugarcoated

BTW, I don't appreciate DS-MAX ruining my perfectly good name. Heaven forbid someone thinks I'm associated with them.......

smackswell

Darkest Daze

if you wasted half a work day, you must have a short work day...:o)

J/K

drduran

niteflytes

Richard Shapero

jurgis

snowferret

doodbugboodles

EthnicRedneck

Ray Wert

>>Amazement!<<

IconoclasticFlow

It does seem to me that Consumerist is going out on a legal limb as you say... So, wait, is this libel or slander-- I forget which is which...

Venkman

>are you actually legal counsel under the Bar of New >York State

BritBoy

Let's say, for example, you were writing a piece about some shitty Time Inc. title that ruins people's live and how shitty Time Inc. is to carry on in such a manner ... but find out after this "well-reported" series that Time Inc. spun off the magazine a year ago and has nothing to do with current ownership or its practices. Yet, you insist on using the Time Inc. name and logo ... they'd be well within their legal rights to drag you into court and spank you something good.

SpecialK

Hilarious post, by the way -- truly English as a second language.

Bunsy

RandomHookup

HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOURSELF WHEN YOU ARE AT THE TOP OF THE LINE. EVEN THE CHURCH HAS IT'S OWN CORRUPTION. IN THE NAME OF GOD, SOME PRIESTS ARE PLAYING WITH CHILDREN, STEALING FUNDS, HAVING SEX. IS THE POPE RESPONSIBLE?...HOW MUCH DOES HE KNOW OR THINKS HE KNOWS? HOW MANY HAVE BEEN HURT IN THE NAME OF GOD.

How many, indeed, Richard.

KopyKat

is that his porn name...first pet + street you grew up on?

LAGirl

s0crates82

I can't believe I somehow managed to read that entire exchange.

ungsunghero

PS: consumerist: the readers demand a post explaining your hungarian whois information.

usmeekly

Enalios

Can you Godwin an email thread? LOL

Nu-life (or whoever). This is what you get for buying damaged goods. Cavet emptor.

kenposan

anatak

-------------------

Personally, I would have stop responding as soon as it became too difficult to read the emails. My replay would have been, "Here's the address where your lawyer can send (via snail mail) an official request." Let 6 months of paperwork and mail-sending irritate that sand for a while...

-----------------
@JPropaganda: Will it be a pearl one day?

jaredharley

But I have never before seen slimeballs like these folks, who seem entirely aware of and comfortable with the fact that they are utter scum. Do they have slime pride events?

aiken

jimmycracks

jimmycracks

JPropaganda

So what is with the Hungary registration? Great country. Try the Unicum.

Kos

DS-MAX split into three groups, Innovage, Cydcor, and Granton Marketing. In 2006, a company called Nu-Life bought all the rights to DS-Max's name.

- Day One

I was in it for real on Day Two, no turning back now. Day Two, also known as the Day of O, short for Day of Observation in DS-Max (now known as Innovage)

- Day of O

Ben Popken

Obviously. :)

Anyway, am I the only person on this thread who thinks that DS-Max 2.0 is trying to force Consumerist to be a party to a contract that DS-Max 2.0 signed with DS-Max 1.0? As in, "I don't have to be bound by your little contract, silly boy"?

speedwell

shiwsup

I think the problem Mr. Shapero has with The Consumerist is the fact that the articles don't note that DS-MAX (the name) is no longer in MLM and the articles would make the casual reader think DS-MAX is still running Midtown Promotions.

Scott

latemodel

Once again, it is simply not our problem that you chose to purchase the brand name and mark of a company about which there is a lot of factual, undisputed, adverse material in the public domain."

-Gaby Darbyshire

The Ultimate Zingggggg!!!

I'm quite sure that if Ben wanted to, he could easily head to a nearby sewer to meet Mr. Shapero, though I believe that he may be taken aback by Mr. Shapero's choice of clownish garb, and his consistent grabbing upward from the grates with his unethical ideas of "They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!"

Uriel

agreed. good point.
I think Richard started well, but then it got real muddled. Less is more, no?

Venkman

Venkman

J

Uriel

chimmike

Scott

teenyware

zolielo

scoobydoo

Chaosium

I just don't see why the DS-MAX name is getting besmirched in this exchange, a lot of people rely on the sanctity of the brand and similar direct selling brands for their livelyhood; there are assholes all over the world, but would you blame all independent sales people for the actions of an isolated few? These companies try hard to squash those rogue sales forces to protect the interests of the good majority and it seems to me that the Consumerist may be hurting more people than they know with this line of commentary.

I do think that the IDT expose is a good one, it's just too bad that we've fallen so far off topic. The collateral damage seems really unfortunate.

Venkman

VA_White

Codis

ROFL!!!!!!

I recommend elementary school!

axiomatic

And >>>Of the record is quite mute, with your interpretation of political and possibly poetic license.

This reminds me of the episode of Friends where Joey says something is a "moo" point. You know, "it's like a cow's opinion - it doesn't matter".

LOL - mute point. What an asshat. Wait, I mean an a*shat! ;)

pinkbunnyslippers

These dudes are out of luck.

Incidentally, the more vehemently someone denies it, the more true it probably is...

tedyc03

mantari

Do you think this company had to book an "intangible liability" for the DS-Max name???

capnfive

Someone spends too much time on Fark....LOL

But seriously these asshats need to STFU, congrats for Consumerists on another great insider story.

exkon

Rectilinear Propagation

Oh, well if someone opines that something is illegal, than surely it must be.

Troy F.

I remember that from business writing - if you're going to use crass language, censor one letter. Much classier and more professional.

Youthier

Shadowman615

It's rather depressing that someone can run a company - even a sleazy one - after failing third grade English.

And, I guess the DX-Max (sorry - Nu-Life/Innovage!!) board of directors pays their executives on a per-word basis?

Finally, Hitler! (/snark)

Trai_Dep

swalve

Not that it makes any sense at all to use emoticons in an ostensibly professional email, but I think it does make sense given the context in which the Js appear.

The Unicorn

Wormfather

Sugarcoated

tracilyns

acambras

kerry

BUT WAS IT AFTER OCTOBER 2006?!!?

alpha

Kung Fu Cantona

timmus

How do you send in a rant in all caps and then ask, "Are we inciting you, or have offended you..."?

Your e-mail offended my eyes for one thing. I don't even know how to respond to the actual content. Is the Pope responsible? WTF?

Rectilinear Propagation

homerjay

hitler was just the icing on the cake!

pjsammy

And again, Gaby Darbyshire is awesome.

acambras

New business model:

1. Wait for a company with a terrible reputation to change it's name
2. Buy the old trademark
3. Threaten to sue anyone who uses it as "diluting" the name
4. ???
5. Profit!

rubberpants

1. Wait for a company with a terrible reputation to change it's name
2.

rubberpants

That is so hilarious. I once knew a guy who always incorrectly said "the point is mute" -- a real comedy classic.

martyz

Keegan99

y2julio

Buran

RandomHookup