I thought I’d update you guys on what happened in regards to Walmart’s legal threat.
I emailed the lawyer with the letter we prepared (after changing it based on the feedback I got in the comments). I never heard back from them which I think is a good thing. Thank you everyone for your help and support. I think that everyone contacting Walmart Canada and letting them know that SmartCanucks is authentic significantly helped! Here’s a reply Kimable, a SmartCanucks reader, got from Walmart Canada when she emailed them:
Good morning,
We appreciate your concern and the opportunity to respond. The communication sent to Smartcanucks originated from an external law firm in the United States, as part of our global company’s effort to defend customers against the growing incidence of online fraud. Unfortunately, Walmart Canada did not have the opportunity to review the communication before it was sent. We believe it was overzealous. However, we continue to urge customers to be very cautious when assessing online offers bearing Walmart’s name
Regards
Debbie
Customer Relations Administrator
Once again, thank you everyone for your advice and support 😀
That’s great that you have not heard anything, but it is scary to think that a compnay such as wal-mart would send something like that out before they really had a chance to in out who, what and where they were sending it to! Looks real bad on them!
In a court filing, Walmart accuses a UFCW Canada Web site – focusing on Walmart workers – of trademark infringement. But instead of backing down, the union has intensfied its online campaign against the store.
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=54200
“”UFCW Canada, one of Canada’s largest unions whose membership spans over many sectors, has beefed up an online campaign against a Walmart court filing targeting the union’s Web site walmartworkerscanada.ca.
Walmart filed a request for a court injunction July 28 claiming the Web site, infringes on its trademarks and asking that it be shut down.
Instead, UFCW Canada has launched a new section on the site and a social media campaign with Facebook and YouTube to bring attention to what it calls an “over the top assault on effective freedom of speech.””
I like that term they used “overzealous” for it fits quite nicely.
I am sorry but I don’t know what happened? I seem to be out of the loop on this one-what happened? Walmart accused SmartCanucks of fraud? If they are going to do something like that-I don’t think I want to shop there if I can shop somewhere else. Even if it is from the states-for them to accuse a website of something like that before getting all the facts, that is just wrong. I still would not mind if someone could fill me in? Sorry I somehow missed this.
Hopefully they will leave you alone now!
DealSniffer, you’ll find all the details in these 2 posts:
http://smartcanucks.ca/walmart-canada-inc-is-threating-me-help-what-should-i-do/
http://smartcanucks.ca/walmart-canada-update/
No trademark on free speech
Copyright protection was not designed to insulate corporations from public criticism
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/687584
In seeking an injunction, Wal-Mart is misusing intellectual property laws. Trademark and copyright protections exist to prevent commercial free-riders from exploiting the investments that businesses make in their products and marketing.
These protections are not designed to insulate corporations from public criticism. The union is obviously not trying to pass itself off as a Wal-Mart store; rather, it is criticizing Wal-Mart’s employment practices.
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It sounds like Arkansas home office hired a lawyer to Google “Wal Mart” and send cease and desist orders to pretty much every one who came up. I dont think you have to worry Boo.
I’m happy to hear that they’ve backed off! Their claim was completely unfounded and fruitless, only Wal-Marx would do such a thing!
Overzealous? That’s an understatement…. but I am glad they backed off
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