[Hidden-tech] name/identity conflict

[Tish Grier]

Hi Chris...
   
  this is an emerging problem and happens when bloggers don't do the necessary searches that they *should* be doing before they set up their blogs.  Bloggers, even when they set them up on blogspot, should be thinking well in advance that they might, at some point, want to go the .com route...had David Maguire done that, he would have found you and, more than likely, would have named his blog something different.
   
  I would contact him and explain that you've had the .com for awhile and the conflict could impact both of you.  Don't worry about his status as a book writer, and if he lauds that over you, then he's being mighty egotisitcal.  Since his blog came after your website, he should do something to fix/change it.  It's not that hard, and it won't hurt him all that much...
   
  hope that helps:-)
  Tish G.

"Chris Duncan, GISmatters" <duncan at GISmatters.com> wrote:
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Two years ago I started a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) consulting 
business named "GISmatters". When I set things up in June of 2004, I did 
exhaustive research to make sure I wasn't in conflict with anything out 
there - at the time, all variations of "gis.*matter.*", and even other 
GIS-related text ending in "matters" - were non-existent.

It was just brought to my attention that for about a year now, a 
high-profile employee of ESRI, the dominant GIS software producer, has been 
running a blog called "GIS Matters", with a web address of 
gismatters.blogspot.com. This guy (David Maguire), has authored some books 
on GIS and is fairly widely known.

Not looking for legal advice from you all - not even sure I could or would 
want to pursue this as a legal matter - but wondering what advice any of 
you might have (perhaps from personal experience) on whether and how to 
communicate with the blogger, what to ask for, etc. It's unfortunate that 
I didn't discover it sooner - he's not likely to be eager to simply abandon 
the identity after a year of blogging. And for all I know I shouldn't even 
expect him to...

I'm not even sure this presents a real problem for me... who knows, maybe 
it's an opportunity? I'm hoping that some feedback might help me to 
clarify what steps to take from here, if any, to address what feels like a 
potentially confusing and/or damaging incursion into my business identity.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

-- 

Chris Duncan, Ph.D.
President
GISmatters

duncan at GISmatters.com
http://www.gismatters.com/

227 E Pleasant St
Amherst, MA 01002

Tel: 413-549-2052
Fax: 508-637-2557


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