It appears that TC has been sitting on this for at least a couple of days with no response. This could be problematic for them, since Tech President has been getting them high-profile media placements, and despite criticism by some (notably Shel Israel) was possibly a way for TC to break into the mainstream consciousness.
Arrington / Tech Crunch -- I know it sucks to deal with something like this over a holiday, but you need to resolve this QUICKLY. If what PDF guy Micah Sifry (Dave Sifry's brother?) is saying is true, you need to 'fess up, work to get them off your throat, and figure out how to perserve what you can of what was an interesting, but flawed, experiment.
You have now entered crisis mode. Whether you realize it or not.
E-mail if you need advice.
UPDATE: 6:30, Sunday December 23: Micah Sifry has issued a partial climbdown. In his post, he says:
If by using the phrase "identity theft" I insulted TechCrunch or Michael Arrington, I apologize. I meant the phrase as a metaphor, not a formal legal accusation. It's how it feels when you see someone else seemingly using your name and encroaching on your beat--without attribution or acknowledgment.
As for whether there is a copyright or trademark violation, I am honestly not interested in the legal interpretation so much as I'm interested in seeing people do the right thing. Several experts have convinced me that the legal argument is murky at best over whether or not TechPresident is a copyrightable term, or a meaningful trademark. Fine, I withdraw my complaints against TechCrunch violating copyright or trademark.
That's all well and good, but TechCrunch still needs to get into the game on this.Ciao,
Bob.
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