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I, Andrew Bernstein, hereby unreservedly apologize to Ms. Janice “Janrae” Frank, to those of my company “Polymancer Studios”, and to all others this matter has come to the attention of; for my over-zealous defense of the trademark owned by the company. No malice nor compensation was intended by my actions.
Sincerely,
Andrew Bernstein
Instead of simply finding a word on my website and attempting to shake me down, they should have taken a long hard look at just who and what they were dealing with.
I was shaken initially. I called my gunslinger and had him deal with them while I pulled myself together. I went over 30 hours without sleep, living on coffee, smokes, and chocolate candy, while I investigated them and contacted my experts.
And I posted across the net, certain that, as always people would come to me with leads and information.
They did.
As the investigation continues, I will say that they may be facing criminal charges as well as a countersuit should they try to carry out their threats.
They sent an email to the owner of sfreader, Dave Felts, and he posted it on the thread I started. Their so-called legal beagle did not know proper legal language nor the difference between libel and slander.
The name of their legal beagle does not show up on a search on either the Canadian or American Bar Association membership rosters.
I support these efforts. I think the greed of companies has gotten out of hand in an age when people most value the free exchange of information.
Copyright, patent, and Trademark definitions, applications, and enforcement need a serious overhaul.
I have used the term polymancer since 1979, where it first appeared in a Chimquar the Lionhawk short story. It is a logical word to create.
Polymancer Studios were “tipped off” by Dagstine that I was infringing their copyright. My use of the word does not show up on a google search until page 65.
I don’t know how this is going to turn out, but I have been told that I will have my arse sued off if I don’t remove it from all my previously published works and my website.
In this day and age it is possible to remove a word from the public vocabulary with a click of a button and some hard cash.
They will have to locate all the small press publications that published my works over the last 30 years and order them burned. Otherwise its out there.
While I can understand someone wanting to protect their investment in a trademark, literary usage of a term that had been in play since the Golden Age is carrying matters too far.
I did not invent the term. It’s been around since I was a teenager reading the old pulps. You can find it in old issues of Weird Tales.
In the US, the rule is not who used it first, but who trademarked it.
Daverana has offered them a compromise, and they have told use that it will take a few days for their legal department to go over it
I intend to stand my ground, but we’ll see where this goes.
