Hasbro Hits Angle With Cease-And-Desist Letter

[deminks]

Source: KVVU Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Hasbro, makers of the world famous Monopoly board game, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle on Monday, claiming one of her campaign websites constitutes copyright infringement.

The website, HarryReidsAmnestyGame.com uses images of the Senate majority leader alongside a game board very similar to Monopoly. It continues Angle's recent attacks on Reid's approach to dealing with illegal immigration.

In the cease-and-desist letter, Hasbro attorneys charge that altered versions of the game board, along with the style and coloring of the “Community Chest” and “Chance” game cards infringe on the company’s copyright and violate federal trademark laws.

“Your unauthorized use of these monopoly elements is likely to tarnish and/or dilute their distinctive qualities,” attorneys wrote in the letter. “Aside from the strictly legal aspects of the matter, we hope that you would respect Hasbro’s desire to avoid associations of its toys and games with partisan politics.”

Read more: http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/25598757/detail.html

[tanyev]

1. Can they send Sharron directly to jail?

Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

[laconicsax]

8. +1

:rofl:

[Kolesar]

10. :snort:

made me laugh

[Blandocyte]

13. You rock!

Ba ha ha!

[Kadie]

21. Perfect.

:thumbsup:

:D

[Odin2005]

27. DUzy!

:rofl:

[golfguru]

2. Is this a joke?

[Sherman A1]

17. Not at all.

If you own a trademark, you must defend it vigorously or you chance losing it.

Hasbro has battalions of attorneys and they WILL use them to defend "The Mark".

[deminks]

3. Huffpo covering this, too.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/01/sharron-angle-hasbro-cease-desist_n_777107.html

WASHINGTON -- Toymaker Hasbro has sent Sharron Angle's Senate campaign a cease and desist letter, saying the Nevada Republican never received permission to use the rights to Monopoly for its "Harry Reid Amnesty Game" website.

"The MONOPOLY image that you are referring to was used without permission -- and our legal department sent a cease and desist letter via fax to Ms. Angle's offices on Friday," said Hasbro spokesman Pat Riso in a statement to The Huffington Post on Monday.

As of the publishing of this piece, however, the site remained up, and Riso said that they have not yet heard anything from the Angle campaign. An Angle spokesman did not respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

The Angle campaign launched its website last week as an attack on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) positions on immigration, touting the game as "fun for the whole illegal family." "Harry Reid thinks illegal immigration is a game but Nevada citizens know that it's all too real," reads the front page of the site.

[roguevalley]

25. Just send Megatron over with the Cease and Desist. I think that

Optimus Prime would be too gentle.

Until all are one,

RV, channeling my inner Autobot

[gratuitous]

4. Republicans think nothing of appropriating other people's work

But touch their stuff? Look out!

[KamaAina]

5. What piece would she be?

Maybe they could have a special Sharron Angle Limited Edition with the chicken, the teabag, the wingnut, etc., instead of the familiar car, thimble, top hat and so on. :P

[Qutzupalotl]

7. Let's give her the boot. n/m

[KamaAina]

11. Sorry, that one's in the Rand Paul Limited Edition

:P

[Tx4obama]

6. It's a bit late now...

It went up four days ago and won't be pulled off until late tonight.
Since election day is tomorrow, she got away with what she wanted to do.

[defendandprotect]

9. Monopoly teaches the predatory nature of capitalism......

wondering how she bounced the reality of exploitation of labor -- including

immigrants -- to Reid?

[bigworld]

12. Yeah, that's pretty blatent infringement.

[Blandocyte]

14. She knew she could use it to make a point then have to

take it down. Playing the laws already.

[CLANG]

15. No doubt she has a monopoly on crazy

[tpsbmam]

24. She has a monopoly on crazy? Oh hell no -- she's one of at least a dozen tearethugligans! n/t

[katty]

16. GOP pls send her same letter

[jtuck004]

18. Run! Sharon. Run! Scurry away, there might be questions. n/t

[applegrove]

19. Talk about garnering themselves goodwill! The democrats will love it and the republicans

don't hear the negative news on Angle because they listen to fox. A win/win!!

[Pab Sungenis]

20. Amusing, since Monopoly

except for the distinctive designs, text of the rules, and specific artwork, is in the public domain. The game dates back to 1904 (when it was "The Landlord's Game") and the patents on it expired long ago.

Clarence Darrow, who Hasbro credits with "creating" Monopoly actually sold the Parker Brothers a game he neither created nor owned; he stole it from an old woman.

[sasha031]

22. I think they sent one to Russ Feingold too

http://www.wrn.com/2010/11/feingold-receives-suspicious-package/

The Dane County Bomb Squad spent some time at Senator Russ Feingold’s Middleton home Saturday afternoon. They investigated a package that was apparently sent from our third president.

The return address was from Illinois, so a staffer for Feingold took the item to authorities, in light of the recent national news over suspicious packages being sent to the Chicago area.

Sergeant Don Mueller says the package was opened after x-rays revealed there were no explosives. Inside was a letter to Feingold signed by Thomas Jefferson. Mueller says the signature looked like the version on the Declaration of Independence saying the person probably cut and pasted it off the internet.

A board game was included. As to what game it was, the sergeant didn’t want to reveal that detail.

[Zambero]

23. Go directly to jail Sharron

Stay awhile and do not pass GO!

[No Elephants]

26. Dragged their feet on this letter until NOW?