Brad Ideas - American Express threatens me over joke on web site - Comments

Brad's Folly...

AMEXican — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:15:53 -0700

Yo Brad:

Amex is one of my least favorite Corporations but you really need to get with the program. Trademark infringement is what it is and you sir, have committed same. If we didn't have the laws that we do, there would be absolute pandemonium (not that it doesn't seem that way now) in the business world. The same protections that extend to Amex also extend to you & I, should we need them.

Sorry you take umbrage to this...

AMEXican

AMEX SCREW YOUR ONE TIME FEE

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:00:34 -0700

Take this then ...

Upgrade an AMEX from GOLDEN to PLATINUM, the software will automatically cancel the Golden one if you have no debts and that's all. They didn't re-compensate back the money you already paid at the beginning of the year. In my case I paid in July 2007 130 for Golden Amex ( one year fee), in Jan 2008 I applied for Platinum based on the forms they send me , I never used Golden but only today May 3-rd 2008 and to discover that the payment was refused , I payed by debit card and when I get back home I called them and find out what is wrong with the card. I ask them WHEN and WHO canceled the card .. THEY DID , WHEN they canceled ? .. IN JANUARY, it means that I paid 130 for a year they own back me the amount between Jan and Jul ( around 65$ half of the year). In the phone conversation I get the money with no resistance from AMEX which proves that they recognize their mistake, but my next question was why your software didn't do that automatically ... Hm it is easy because foolish my loss and them win free money. .... ok but how much per year , If a million switch a year they win in average 65 millions, ( I consider that some might do that at the begging of the period some at the end so it is and average).

I do not think this is fair either. .... and the authorities should force them to refund the money back.

Way To go AmEx.....cOntinue

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:26:26 -0700

Way To go AmEx.....cOntinue destroying the US middle class Why Don't You OutSource 99.9 % Of Jobs Including ken'S!!!!!!!!

Litigation

TJ — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:48:15 -0700

Hmmm, I see the joke and the Cease and desist letter are still posted. Are you taunting AMex and their lawyers?

GOOD!!!!!

The Corporate Heretic

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 05:24:45 -0800

I suggest you read "160 Degrees of Deviation: The Case for the Corporate Cynic" by Jerome Alexander. These are the musings of a real corporate heretic. He must be hated by the arrogant, egotistical, jerks who manage companies.

american express

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 23:15:12 -0700

I'm waiting for american express to threaten me with legal action. Will be good fun to go into court and show the world how they held my $20,000.00 for 5 months while all the time denying that they did ot have it because my check dishonored, hell it was a bank draft; on top of all that they tried to get me to think that I was partly to blame, no way I'll accept that way that they think, because they can't think, they haven't got the brain power to even raise a sweat if it comes to that. Then they lied to ,me, very silly of them to do it in writig, so have them by the shoryt hairs if they want to try to take me on. They will lose, but I will have good fun making them lose. Have already posted them on an austtralian website named not good enough, they have fun with the likes of amex when they do things like that they did to me. I want compensation from them for the added expenses that I had to incur because of them, plus the fact that I could not use my cards on recent overseas travel, couple that with the discrediation of my good name, and they will have to compensate me; they just want to make a token gesture, but I want what they cost me and a good will gesture on top. anybody wans to know what it's all about, mail me on rob48@hushmail.com, and I will tell you and name names

american express joke

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 09:24:32 -0700

I cannot believe that they would send you a letter on such a stupid topic! I read both the joke and american express letter. Doesn't american express have any real jobs for their lawyers?! To waste time on something this ignorant and to threaten people just because they can.. I closed my account with them today after reading this! I don't want to be associated with a corporation that is so out of touch. It is funny how american express financial has no drug testing and knowing allows certain people level 7 and 8's (in Minneapolis)to handle customer calls yet make a big deal out of a joke on your site!

Americna Express SUCKS

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 23:46:38 -0800

American Express SUCKS!!! Find out why - visit http://www.amexsux.com/

Lawyers

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 05:39:25 -0700

True definition of the word waste:

44 Passenger bus full of lawyer going over a 100 ft cliff and having three empty seats.

no preset speeding/spending limit

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 09:27:06 -0700

Can't believe they could be bothered to threaten over this 'joke.' I have had a gold card since 1982 and when in Australia in 2000 I attempted to buy a $7,000AU (approximately $7,000 Canadian) car with my AMEX card. I was denied because it was outside my spending pattern and I had been late paying in October...$1,600 (I mistakenly filed bill without paying but paid in full on next invoice over $4,000 and paid December before leaving for Australia before the bill statement had been posted). I have been late, but always pay in full. I got the mumble jumble about outside my usual spending patterns (I had $30,000 in an AMEX savings account and when they learned that, they were going to use it as collateral, but couldn't access my account number). I ended up paying cash and using MasterCard to make up the difference...MasterCard was great! Meanwhile the saga continues with me writing 3 letters to them and them finally offering me a free year on the card fees and 10,000 points...11,000 points gets me a toaster. The screw-up with AMEX cost 7 days sitting at my friends home hundereds of miles away and then backtracking to the dealer to complete the car transaction. Next time I leave home, it will be WITHOUT my AMEX card...it will be replaced with a Visa card.

Destiny Commander — Sun, 23 Jan 2005 04:17:27 -0800

I'm sorry to join this thread almost a year late, but I just had to comment on two things.

1) The text of the cease and desist letter proves once and for all that laywers have no sense of humor! They actually seemed to think that "American Expressway" was a real company/service provided. Otherwise, what "service" could actually be confused? I don't think the lawyers are bad people or are trying to harrass anyone, they just don't have any sense of funny.

2) Bayer AG was forced to give up its trademark of "Aspirin" after WWI? Interesting, since they still put the little R in a circle after the word here in Germany! I think someone forgot to tell them!

cuntryboi — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 13:34:56 -0700

I hate them ere corporations. They think they can bully us around with ere fancy dancy laws and lawyers. i think thay have another thing coming

amexsucks — Fri, 07 May 2004 07:08:53 -0700

Maybe the geniuses at LVM should take a look at how american express financial services division (AEFA) has been SCREWING it's clients for year after year. If the american regulatory agencies such as the SEC were not such a joke these filth would all be in jail.

Froggie — Fri, 23 Apr 2004 12:04:06 -0700

Unless the phrases are specifically trademarked (and last I checked, they weren't), AmEx has no legal standing to order the C&D...

As someone else mentioned, seems like a case of no-sense-of-humor...

Herald of Chaos — Thu, 22 Apr 2004 00:17:24 -0700

>> Aspirin used to be trademark
>> of Bayer in America

Bayer was a German company, and we took Aspirin from them as spoils of war (remember, we fought them a couple of times in the first half of the twentieth century). They didn't lose it per se, it was taken from them..

Bayer also owned the trademark on Heroin (Diacetyl Morphine).

American Express threatens me over joke on web site

brad — Tue, 13 Apr 2004 08:17:25 -0700

On my rec.humor.funny web site, I maintain the newsgroup archives, including this 13 year old joke entitled American Expressway.

Today I got one of those bullying "cease and desist" letters from American Express's law firm, ordering me to take down the joke for trademark infringement. Here's the text of the cease and desist

Do these guys know who they are trying to bully? I guess not, here's my response to them:

You can "Screw More" with an American Express Lawyer

Do you know me?

I built a famous company with a famous name, and then satirists made fun of me by taking advantage of the constitutional protections afforded parody when it comes to trademark law?

That's why I retained Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd, the "American Express Lawyers." Should you ever feel your reputation lost or stolen by free speech and satire, just one call gets LVM to write a threatening cease and desist letter -- usually on the same day -- citing all sorts of important sounding laws but ignoring the realities of parody. Most innocent web sites will cave in, not knowing their rights. LVM will pretend it has never read cases like L.L. Bean, Inc. v. High Society and dozens of others. There's no preset limit on the number of people you can threaten, so you can bully as much as you wish.