IDG and 'Trademark Dilution' For Dummies

Patrick Mochel writes " I'm on a local Linux Users' Group mailing list here in Portland, OR. Sometime in the recent past, someone sent a message to the list proposing that there be published a "For Dummies" book detailing how to use the infinitely complicated sendmail. One way or another, the people at IDG caught wind that this person had used "SMART_HOST for dummies" in the subject line of an email and sent the following message back to him. The list has been in an uproar since." I've attached a few messages from a mailing list below. IDG is the mega corporation that runs LinuxWorld (the website and the expo) as well as publishing many books including the 'For Dummies' series that this is talking about.

Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 10:26:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Plump
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Subject: [PLUG] PLUG: Cease and Desist (this means you David Welton)
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Heh. On 10/23/1998 David Welton made a post with the subject "SMART_HOST for dummies". Apparently IDG Books didn't like that so much. They found the post in the PLUG archives and emailed the owner of skylab.org (a fictional character named Joe Dietz) telling him to remove the page.
Anyone got advice about what I should do? Ignore it? Reply asserting that I'm not responsible for the content (am I?). Or...?

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Michael Allen Plump | Snorks + Kr0n =3D yip yip yip! |

[e-mail]
"Salsa jazz music reminds me of the time my grandpa ate his left ear."
--Joe Dietz

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 12:26:11 -0500
From: Isabelle Drewelow
To: [e-mail]
Subject: your web site
October 28, 1999
Joe Dietz [e-mail]
BY E-MAIL
Re: Smart_Host for Dummies
Dear Mr. Dietz,

IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. ("IDG Books") is the publisher of the well-known and well-regarded "...FOR DUMMIES" series of reference books and products.

It has come to my attention that you are using the subtitle "Smart_Host for Dummies" in a chat room on your Web site at: [link ] While we wish you every success in your work, we must raise certain issues with respect to your use of IDG Books' federally registered trademark.

As you probably know, IDG Books publishes and distributes globally a line of reference books known as the "...FOR DUMMIES" series. This series has been in existence since 1991 and has been translated into 38 languages. In addition, there are many other successful FOR DUMMIES products including calendars, audio books, musical compact discs, toys, games, and clothing.

IDG Books has made a substantial investment in promoting the identification of this trademark to its distributors and customers, and currently has registrations in many countries.

Because of the significant efforts that IDG Books has undertaken to promote and protect its trademarks, and because of the potential for confusion and/or dilution, we trust that you can appreciate our concerns. For your information, dilution is a relatively new area of law which requires the owner of a trademark to protect it against "erosion" and/or dilution. Some famous examples of trademark dilution are Kleenex tissues, Scotch Tape, Xeroxing and Aspirin, as these marks were not protected by their respective owners and, today have become almost generic terms. At IDG Books, our goal is to prevent such "generalization" from happening to our trademarks.

Therefore, we hope that this matter can be resolved quickly and amicably. Accordingly, we request that you change "Smart_Host for Dummies" to a non-infringing title and provide IDG Books with written assurances that you will refrain from using its trademarks in the future. We look forward to hearing from you by November 10th , 1999.

Very truly yours,

Isabelle Drewelow
Trademark Coordinator
IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.

(Note: It is really a mailing list, and not a chat room, but the fact that they think it is a chat room scares me even more)