[IMC-Tech] Re: [Imc-staff] New York Times Syndicate--trademark infringement

[Gayden Wren/CORPHQ/NYTIMES]

Dear Ms. Edwards:

      I have actually read the page (and more than 200 like it) in some
detail.  This entire affair has been extraordinarily time-consuming and
dreadfully unpleasant, especially because of the scores of conversations
I've been forced to have with artists whom I had to inform that the
highest-profile review they'd ever gotten was fraudulent.  As you can
imagine, being the spreader of such bad news is not pleasant.
      You are, of course, correct in your reading of the citation in
question, which we also quoted in our letter.  You will note that the
letter carefully stated that this statement (which is, of course,
completely untrue) "supports" the infringement, rather than was itself an
infringement.  Had it mentioned The New York Times Syndicate specifically,
it would have been an actual infringement, albeit an unintentional one on
your part.
      Mr. Ivany's methodology, when anyone questioned his bona fides, was
to suggest that, to save time, they run a Web check on his name.  When we
first investigated it, there were 109 Web citations identifying him as a
Times writer (now down to four) and 122 identifying him as a syndicated
writer, as a columnist appearing in hundreds of newspapers and so forth
(now down to 11).  All of these tended to buttress his claims, causing
innocent people to believe that he was what he claimed to be and setting
them up for future disappointment.
      (His motivation, incidentally, seems to have been to get record
companies, and occasionally movie studios and book publishers, to send him
free sample copies of their releases.  Initially we feared that he was
charging artists for positive reviews in his "column"--in reality simply a
weekly spam e-mail--but so far as we can determine this was not the case.)
      Obviously, your good-faith mailing (the result of good-faith
information supplied by Mr. King) could reasonably be interpreted as
validating a present or future claim by Mr. Ivany that he is or used to be
a writer syndicated by The New York Times Syndicate.
      As you now know that not to be the case, I hope and trust that you
will assist us in seeing that this information--now, obviously, long
outdated--is removed from the archive site as quickly as possible.
      If I can provide any further information, please give me a call at
(212) 499-3329.

      And, lest we forget, happy holidays!

                                          Sincerely,

                                          Gayden Wren