[Imc-web] New York Times Syndicate--trademark infringement

[Gayden Wren/CORPHQ/NYTIMES]

                                          23 December 2005

Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
202 South Broadway, Room 100
Urbana, Illinois    61803

To whom it may concern:

        We have made numerous attempts, thus far without result, to obtain
your assistance in correcting an egregious error on an IMC-related Web page
which includes a citation of “the John Shelton Ivany Top Twenty-One,
published in 200 national newspapers.”  The URL in question is:
lists.cu.groogroo.com/mailman/archive/imc-events/2002-February.txt.
        I initially communicated with you by telephone in reference to this
matter on 4 February 2005, and was told  that the misinformation would be
corrected if I would send an e-mail explaining the problem to
mailman at lists.chambana.net, copied to imc-web at ucimc.org and
imc-staff at ucimc.org.  I did so, but the material was not removed.
Subsequent telephone messages left at (217) 344-8820 on 28 March 2005, 13
July 2005 and 22 November 2005 have not been returned.

      As I said in our previous letter, Mr. Ivany is a hoaxster who during
2002 and 2003 misrepresented himself as a writer for The New York Times
Syndicate.  In reality he is not now and never has been a writer or other
employee of The New York Times, The New York Times Syndicate or any related
company.  We have never syndicated or otherwise distributed anything
written by Mr. Ivany, and indeed do not syndicate record reviews by anyone
in any form.
      Furthermore, so far as we can determine, “The John Shelton Ivany Top
21” does not appear in any newspaper anywhere, and never has.  Nor is he
affiliated with AOL Music Channel, ASCAP, BMI, Hardrock.com, spinner.com,
TowerRecords.com or United Press International, as he also has claimed in
the past.

      Our legal department has contacted Mr. Ivany, and has obtained
certain assurances that will prevent any future misrepresentation on his
part.
      Your involvement is presumably based on material provided by Charlie
King, who at the time believed in good faith that Mr. Ivany was who he said
he was.  At our request, Mr. King has subsequently removed all references
to Mr. Ivany from his publicity materials.
      The IMC no doubt distributed the material in good faith, unaware that
it contained incorrect information which tended to corroborate a fraudulent
claim, and submitted it to the Web site in question in good faith.  We
believe your involvement to be inadvertent, without intent to support any
infringement upon the trademark of The New York Times Syndicate and related
companies.
      Nonetheless, your failure to act to correct this error, despite
repeated requests that you do so, represents potential and actual damage to
The New York Times Syndicate and related companies.  We take such matters
seriously, and must ask that you immediately remove, or cause to be
removed, from this site (and any and all others that may be relevant) any
references to Mr. Ivany which would tend to support his past fraud in
connection with The New York Times Syndicate, The New York Times or any
related company.

      I can be reached at  (212) 499-3329, and would be happy to provide
any other information that you may require.

                                    Sincerely,

                                    Gayden Wren, Senior Editor
                                    The New York Times Syndicate
                                    609 Greenwich Street
                                    New York, New York   10014-3610