Raf

Deleted because of unforeseen edit.

I agree that Pat probably could have won the Way of Christ dispute, with one caveat: all the other ministries mentioned by cherished child arrived at their names independently of TWI. Whatever you think of Pat's use of the name, I don't think it's credible to argue that he arrived at it independently. More important, I don't think there is a jury on earth who would arrive at that conclusion. That's why TWI would probably lose against most ministries, but would stand a better chance fighting Pat on that one.

I don't know if that's enough to predict a legal loss.

Radar,

I would agree with you if it didn't mean the potential loss of money and resources from those challenging TWI. TWIM could have used that money and time and energy for a more useful purpose. I'm sorry that their time and effort came to naught (then again, at least they didn't get sued for previous trademark violations: a pyrrhic victory, but still a victory).

Actually, I'd like to post all five purple hearts as links to the sites.

No.

Take a look.

Woohoo!

CW, do I have your permission to post your award on my site?

Paw, Eagle: Do I have your permission to copy the original post?

John,

I'm glad you don't object. I do. Others do. Government simply doesn't have the right to do this.

Maybe the court will decide differently, but they would (in my opinion) be wrong to do so.

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Go back and read their credentials, they knew not to let this get to a jury.........

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Sad to say, I agree with this assessment.

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Maybe all these little ministries and churches and organizations will get their heads together and fight via a united front.

I mean, seriously, it offends me to no end that twi claims an ownership of the words that my very good friend Jesus used of himself.

I'm glad twi is so proud of their ability to sicken people, too...because pride is one of the 7 that will do in twi in the end.

See, TWI, sooner or later you're gonna run into the dude who originally coined the term "the way"...

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Amen, sister.

Good luck, Pat.

CW,

TWIM asked for a temporary injunction to prevent TWI from enforcing its trademarks. The court ruled that they will not get the temporary injunction because they were not likely to prevail. THEN TWIM settled (aka, folded like a poker player with a 1,3,5,10 and K of four different suits) (aka, got spanked).

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TWIM also settled before an actual hearing was made on the evidence. I intend to go all the way to a jury trial. I have ex-members who want to testify about their experiences in TWI, and two police officers who are going to testify about investigations they have done of TWI.

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If you're allowed to introduce any of this "evidence," I'll be (pleasantly) surprised. If I were judging this case, I'd laugh at any effort you made to introduce it, as not one iota of it is relevant to a case of trademark infringement.

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When I found The Way Ministries site and read that legal notice thingy, I figured they either knew what they were getting into...or knew something else. I sent them an email, too.

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You're probably right. I wouldn't put my money on them winning, though. TWIM tried and got spanked. (Did I mention they got spanked?)

Also, save your time on incidental references to the words "The Way." TWI is not going to go after KC and the Sunshine Band (That's the Way, uh huh uh huh). They're not going to go after Fastball ("Where were they goin without ever knowin the way").

They're going to go after ministries that use the words "The Way," "The Way International" or "The Way Ministry" in a manner that would conceivably cause confusion with their trademark. The Way Ministries is vulnerable. TWIM got spanked (did I mention that)? The Way of New York folded like a trained yoga master. The fact that The Way Ministries knew about TWI's trademark makes their use of the name more actionable, not less. If they're challenged, I do wish them luck too. And fortitude: perhaps more than TWIM (which, incidentally, got spanked).

By the way ™, I wonder if The Way Ministries has a legal team that will withstand a challenge from TWI once their lawyers get a load of their Web site (and now that you've posted the link, it's a sure bet that TWI knows about it).

Maybe you should have sent all those web sites to TWIM (which got spanked).

Seems to me that TWIM had lawyers advising their client. Seems to me they folded like a cheap card table when faced with the raw facts of a legal case. I'm disappointed, because they really came up with the name independently of any knowledge of TWI. But the raw fact is they lost on every major point.

Pat, good luck. But if you ever asked for a sign as to whether you should continue this fight, I think you got it, posted it, drew all the wrong lessons from it, and are now in for a bumpy ride.

Good luck.

Figures.

Does anyone need further proof that he was making a religious statement by having that monument in his courthouse?

Okay, that was closer than I wanted it to be. But a great game, and kudos to the Red Sox for turning an 8-0 game into a nailbiter.

Uh oh.

They may take this series yet. They faced some good pitching tonight, and did well. The Yankees pitching staff ain't great this year. No Clemens. No Pettite. It's going to be tough to go seven games agains THESE Red Sox.

Then again, the Yanks are no longer allergic to Schilling.

Go Yanks!

From 8-0 to 8-7.

Who do those Red Sox think they are? Haven't they seen the Yankee payroll? They'd better cough up a few bucks if they expect the right to win this game, or the series!

The story mentions one place where they put it up next to the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence. I think it should probably stay there (although the other two documents were placed in a naked attempt to keep the Ten Commandments there). I don't know, i could probably go either way on that.

Displaying it on private land, where it will be seen by plenty of folk, seems to be the best solution to me.

I argued about this with my brother, and ended the argument by telling him that if he does not have the Ten Commandments up in his living room, he has no right to continue the discussion. He agreed (surprisingly).

Oooh, look! A game!

Gee, it's fun for me.

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They only agreed to do so in the United States. Almost all of TWIM's activities are in other countries where they can still use their name. This was TWI's concession.

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That's a half-truth at best, and you know it.

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It is understood that TWIM will continue using the name "The Way International Ministries, Inc." for its activities in foreign countries outside of the United States and its territories, but that it does (sic) at its own risk and subject to legal action in the event it violates TWI's rights in those foreign countries. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as TWI granting its license, authorization, approval, agreement, endorsement or permission to TWIM to use the name "The Way International Ministries, Inc."

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Seems to me that TWI has the upper hand on that count.

Both sides made compromises. That is true. TWI decided not to go after TWIM for any past violations of TWI's enforceable trademark. They agreed not to sue TWIM for any money raised in the past using the TWIM name.

TWIM, on the other hand, agreed to stop using the name in the United States, and understands that they may be sued if they use it outside the United States (depending on the circumstances, laws, etc).

Dude, this is as lopsided a "settlement" as I've ever seen.

Looks like TWIM is specifically banned from helping you in your lawsuit, too.

TWIM abandoned its opposition to TWI's trademark.

TWIM got SPANKED. There's no other way to read this.

Umm, yeah, they settled...

TWIM abandoned the use of the name "The Way International."

That's not a settlement. Looks to me like TWIM got spanked.

And the thing is, they arrived at their name innocently, with no intent whatsoever to draw the attention of TWI or anyone else.

Pat, I still hope your lawsuit goes well, but in light of the fact that TWIM had to make these changes...

Well, good luck.

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John Cleese

John Cleese was recently asked on American TV what he thought the

differences between the English and the Americans were.

In reply he said that there were three differences:

1. We speak English and you don't.

2. When we hold a World Championship for a particular sport, we invite

teams from other countries.

3. When you meet the head of state in England, you only have to go

down on one knee.

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Why is it that when we "steal" people with money, we get to the World Series, but when you have those same people without money, you're still stranded?

Money doesn't win the World Series: a good team does. This was proven in 2001 and 2003.