What, Me, Infringing Monopoly®?

Mr. Jason Fortuny
www.rfjason.com

Re: Infringement of MONOPOLY® Property Trading Game Copyrights and Trademarks

Dear Mr. Fortuny:

We are counsel for Hasbro, Inc. ("Hasbro"), the owner of the copyrights and trademarks for the MONOPOLY® property trading game. We recently became aware of your "Lulzopoly" and "LJopoly" games at http://rfjason.livejournal.com/616587.html and on your site at www.rfjason.com, which contain elements and images obviously copied from the MONOPOLY® property trading game. Specifically, the appearance of the game boards, the title deed cards, the distinctive property squares and the game money are obviously copied from the MONOPOLY® game. The "LJopoly" game board also copies the distinctive MONOPOLY® corner squares.

The MONOPOLY® property trading game as a whole, as well as specific elements and characters, such as the property squares, the corner squares and the design of the title deed cards, are the copyrighted property of Hasbro. Hasbro also owns the trademark rights to the numerous elements of the MONOPOLY® property trading game, including the property squares, corner squares and title deed cards, that have achieved source-identifying significance.

Your unauthorized use of the MONOPOLY® game board and game elements constitutes copyright infringement in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 501. Your unauthorized use of the property squares, corner squares and title deed cards also violates the federal trademark laws, including 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114(1) and 1125(a), by creating a likelihood of confusion with respect to Hasbro's authorization or sponsorship of or association with your activities. The unauthorized use of these MONOPOLY® marks is also likely to dilute their distinctive qualities in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c).

We therefore demand that you immediately cease and desist from any further use of the MONOPOLY® property trading game, that you remove the infringing elements and images from your game and from your website, and that you provide us with a written assurance that in the future you will refrain from any further unauthorized use of the elements and characters of the MONOPOLY® property trading game.

Please confirm to me as soon as possible, and in any event within ten days, your agreement to the above. This letter does not purport to be a complete statement of the facts or the law and is without prejudice to Hasbro's legal and equitable rights.

Sincerely yours,
Carin G. Reynolds
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP
1133 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036-6710
tel: 212.336.2104
fax: 212.336.2277
cgreynolds@pbwt.com

Hmm. It's obviously not a DMCA request, which would have been the smart route if I were actually infringing any copyright. I'm more scared of getting sued by Encyclopedia Dramatica since I used several of their visual trademarks in Lulzopoly - still just $20!!!. If you look closely at the language, it reads like an intimidation note rather than anything legally enforceable.

And we all know how I respond to intimidation.

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