And this is Broad sweep trademark infringement, written Dec 28, 2004, and concerning Rants

So, I just got this email:

Dear Sir:

My name is Eric Sommer and I am the trademark owner of iCapture. It is a trademark for a company I own and you are using

the name in an unauthorized manner without permission and are thus infringing – and have been infringing – on
my exclusive trademark and copyright.

I need to ask you to do one of two things – cease immediately from using it on your website and everywhere else, deliver

all materials that carry the name or logo to me immediately or negotiate a license deal for it’s use and replication. I
will request a review of all your books and records in order to determine what monies are owed as well.

If there are any partners to the projects you have worked on or under, or additional products who use the name iCapture
as well, then they may be liable too, and you should provide me with the names of their corporate counsels wherever they

are located. Additionally, if this is a code project, as a copyright and trademark infringer, all code, all work
product, hard products and all monies made under the name iCapture must be accounted for and may be the property of the
trademark holder.

If you have been using it for sometime, and clearly you have since you have had significant business at your location,
then
I will ask for some sort of payment for its use. If you have an attorney, please have him contact me.

Eric Sommer
2314 19th Street NW

#3
Washington, DC 20009

You can reach me at 202-255-1995. Trademark and copyright infringement is a serious matter and carries significant
financial penalties – up to treble damages can be awarded.

Sincerely,

Eric Sommer

cc: Michael Kessler, ESQ.

Now, all I have that mentions iCapture is a post praising its coolness. Am I worried about this? You will be amazed to hear that I am not.

Comments

David

Uh oh, I’ve also praised iCapture a few times on my site, and recommended it in comments on other weblogs. Better get myself a lawyer eh? ;)

Matt

What does Eric Sommer have to do with Dan Vine, the guy who runs iCapture?

Matt

A quick Google on “Eric Sommer iCapture” shows that a guy called Eric Sommer has/had an email address at a, now defunct, company called iCapture.

There’s a load of nonsense on the site’s homepage about a bunch of people being able to make a difference. Clearly not enough of a difference to avoid going under and having to resort to astonishing, misidirected pseudo-legal threats.

Nicholas

Just happened upon your site through a link and saw this posting. I don’t blame you for not being worried, because this is just stupid. Looking to go into business myself, I’ve read up on trademarks and copyrights, I know that it’s virtually impossible to claim trademark infringement for a mark that isn’t actively being used. This stinks of someone who needs some extra money and searched Google for people using his “trademark” as a last-ditch effort to make some money. Otherwise, Mr. Sommer would’ve gone after Dan Vine.

Sirhan

Mr. Sommer’s email almost seems like a variation of the Nigerian bank account e-mail scam, except that it is too specific. Indeed, a quick search at the Patent & Trademark Office website (www.uspto.gov) shows there are two “live” trademarks for “iCapture.” One is for “computer software” and registered to Impression Technology Corporation in Oakland CA; the other is for “marketing services” and registered to iCapture, Inc., a Virginia corporation (address given as 3128 M Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20007). The Virginia State Corporation Commission web site Clerk’s Information System, a free public information database, shows Eric Sommer as the president of iCapture, Washington DC. The corporation is listed as no longer in “good standing” and was “terminated” on 02/24/00 with unpaid balances and fees totaling $950. The “iCapture” that is the subject of Sommer’s letter clearly is a piece of software, so why is Sommer trying to collect money from the wrong guy (Langridge) over a “software” trademark that Sommer does not own? A Google of “Eric Sommer” and “3128 M Street” reveals that Sommer was behind various now defunct enterprises at that address including Eric Sommer & Partners (an advertising agency), iCapture, and the recently cancelled Georgetown Film Festival in Washington DC. I agree with Nicholas that Eric Sommer is trying to get some extra money without working for it. There seems to be no limit to what some people will try to get something for nothing.

Matt

Looks like the D.C. Fraud Bureau has been interested in iCapture and Eric Sommer. See http://disr.dc.gov/disr/frames.asp?doc=/disr/lib/disr/pdf/icapture_inc._eric_sommers.pdf