Ok, I have developed some software and website that can be read about at: www.TheMessenger4Him.com I just received an email from their admin stating: Here is a link to their T&C: http://shoutlife.com/terms.cfm Do you guys think I've broken any laws or done anything illegal? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks, Judd
It's certainly against their TOS and they could file a civil lawsuit against you, but I don't see anything about them saying it is "illegal" in a criminal sense.
Right, but I don't use the software. I only developed it, nothing wrong with that. They asked that I not use the software, I don't. Me selling it has no legal ramifications to my knowledge, only the end user is responsible. Right?
They could certainly sue you and force you spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees defending yourself - it really depends on how aggressive they want to be. Even if you win, you wouldn't likely get legal fees awarded. A lot of the time is comes down to who has the deep pocket and how much it is worth to you to fight it. Some times a letter like that is just a bluff, other times not. You are using their name/trademark to sell a commercial product and I know that myspace has filed Federal lawsuits against makers of similar products. If you want to keep the site up, I would certainly consult an attorney.
That was my main concern. I do have the words "ShoutLife" on my website (but that can easily be removed). The people who know about the software already know what site it's for, there isn't a real need to have it on the site. Just trying to cover all my bases before I take too much action. Or what about hosting on foreign servers?
I'm not sure what they could expect in a civil case (though they might just look for an injunction), but I'm not sure a judge would agree with your argument. Case A) I sell axes. A woman bought an axe from me. I did not ask her what she wanted it for. She killed her husband with the axe. Am I liable? No, I could reasonably have thought she was going to use the axe to cut down a tree. Case B) I made a product that works specifically (and only) with somebody else's product. I know that use of the product violates the terms of the other product. I don't explicitly mention this violation in my content anywhere, though I do indicate the use of my product is 'safe' to use with the other product. Somebody buys my product and uses it like it was designed and for what it was designed to do. Now I am going to say, "I had no idea people would use this to do what is was made to do."? I think not. Though that is my take, who knows what a judge would decide (if there was a civil suit). Simply hosting on foreign servers is not enough to protect you from US law (assuming you are in the US). And since they already know about you, it won't offer much in the way of having your details protected either.
Alright, upon further digging, I've found they have the phrase "SHOUTLIFE" trademarked (http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=2n2n6t.2.1). If I remove the phrase "ShoutLife" from my site that should help me there. Also, can the TM or ® next to the words "ShoutLife" help me at all (Example: ShoutLife TM)
I don't think their issue is with the use of the term, it is the production of software that allows users to violate the agreement they made when signing up.
If the email was really from them, you could certainly face civil lawsuits that could end up costing you some money. If you are making enough to defend and possibly pay a lawsuit then keep the site and keep selling, otherwise, I say close it down.
The message I got from them was to my ShoutLife inbox, nothing official or formal yet. I don't see how I can be faced with a civil lawsuit here. Just like bluegrass's examples above.
I think bluegrass is telling you that it is possible you could be held liable. What is certain - they could sue you - there is no doubt about this (assuming you reside in the US).
Why can they sue me? I guess I don't fully understand. I just got another message from him, and his main point was this: My site does not directly discourage them from using the ShoutLife advertising program, it only states their current rates.
mjewel is right. I don't know enough law in this area to know whether they could accomplish anything in court, but they certainly can take you there. The point of my previous post is that I don't think you will be able to claim that you had no part in the use of this product to violate the terms of Shoutlife. That is all your product is designed to do. What else do you think people are doing with it?
"Take a look at the current rates that ShoutLife charges to show your advertisement! SHOUTLIFE SPOTLIGHT: Views Weekly Rate 400,000 $1395.00 200,000 $795.00 100,000 $495.00 It's pretty obvious those are extremely high prices compaired to what you'd be paying with The Messenger!" Of course they can sue you. That is a fact. Whether they will win or not, is not known. They could sue you knowing they will likely lose but betting you won't want to spend tens of thousands of dollars defending yourself in court. It happens all the time.
So whats the difference if i have this only? I'm not discouraging them in any away, just stating the obvious and what they can easily find on the ShoutLife website themselves.
You're missing the whole point. They don't like your program. They can sue you. Changing your content now is after the fact - but no matter what you do to the site, they could still sue you. They could still sue you even if you took the site down today (although they probably wouldn't). It doesn't sound like there is anything you could do to get them to agree to use of your software and you probably shouldn't be emailing them since they have already threatened legal action. You need to decide if the program is worth consulting an attorney. If so, what is your exposure and are you willing to spend considerable funds in court should they decide to file a civil suit?
I can leave my site up until the end of the day today he stated. Tomorrow I am going to talk with my attorney. Oh well, maybe they'll hire me to do some work in the end haha not likely though.