►Ben Heck's Portable Colecovision @ bit.ly/2rWXFf4 ►More info @ Nerdly Blog - bit.ly/2rD5mX5 ►To see Colecovision trademark documents: 1) Go to US trademark search bit.ly/2sbSg4o 2) Basic Word Search - click LIVE - type "colecovision" - SUBMIT QUERY 3) Click on "TSDR" under CHECK STATUS 4) Click DOCUMENTS tab 5) Have fun reading!
I would like to add that I was unaware of the Nerdly blog when we recorded this. Interesting that we came to somewhat similar conclusions on the Colecovision trademark.
I think it's one whole pod cast just broken down into smaller segments. I think that is how you get the illusion of them wearing the same clothes for different podcasts.
I've read somewhere in the comments that it's Ian's fave so most likely he has a shit ton of those. He probably opens up a fresh bottle before each podcast.
The dollar is a legal requirement in contract law called "consideration." There has to be an offer, acceptance, and consideration. If a dollar wasn't exchanged as consideration it's not an actual contract. It's a little more complicated than that. But yeah
Pat and Ian: thank you very much for doing these recent videos. The Colecovision and the NES were my favorite consoles ever, and as a passionate Colecovision player with many wonderful memories from those games, it makes me happy to see the homebrew community and its fans keeping the Colecovision alive after all these years. My hope is that these videos - and your massive following - lead to more people knowing the truth about the shady activities surrounding the Coleco name; I hope this leads to the right eyes taking a deeper look at this and eventually freeing the trademarks so that they may go to better people.
My take on this is that Coleco Holdings acted fraudulently and under false pretenses when they allegedly claimed they were the trademark holders (at a time when they had no approved trademark yet). To me, it doesn't matter what rights Ben gives away - if any - in signing a contract because the contract was drawn up under false pretenses.
That alone should spark another look into the trademark and legally where Riverwest truly stands in holding it. If someone wants to contest it, and has the ability and clout to do so, this would make for an interesting case no matter the outcome. Not to mention, if their holder status is overturned, what this could mean for the Flashback consoles they sold and still have on the market. They legally cannot say they own the trademark on them, nor could they legally collect fees for its use.
Living in NJ, I saw the ad at a local game shop for the Coleco convention, and I was tempted to go but decided against it. Your video about it yesterday makes me want to go and ask them about this handheld AND the disaster they are doing with the trademark now. It's just a cluster of mess. sigh....
I'm not sure (also not a lawyer), but I don't see how ben's handheld qualifies as 'commercial use' unless he sells them, which i don't think he does. I'm fairly certain he would be classified as a 'hobbyist' -- he created it for personal use and also as an experiment in hobby electronics.
I wish these old companies would actually license out their brand instead of doing nothing. Allow people to make repros and homebrew for a small fee, let someone make a plug n play console, sell games digitally. Do something. It works for everyone else. I've had this Atari controller plug n play replica forever, long before Nintendo did their mini thingy. Someone's gotta be interested in buying stuff like that. Even if Coleco is a less known brand these days...
Hey Pat. You should contact TH-camr Leonard French about this. He's the lawyer that kept making videos disassembling the lawsuit against Jim Sterling. He might have some insight. Though I'm sure it will be limited since Ben cant find the paperwork he signed. Then again, someone could probably request it from "Colecovision" since I'm pretty sure they're required to keep it.
You should probably get in touch with Leonard French and see what he thinks about this situation. He's a copyright attorney, not trademark, but I'm sure he can give an informed legal opinion and potentially confirm Ian's thought process.
We were all hoping you would be covering this on the podcast. Coleco better get exposed and punished legally for this shit. We all know that $1 shit is for some shady, sneaky BS they could use against someone in later use.
"Maybe someone lives in a house made out of stool, but that's just an opinion." OMFG Classic Ian! I haven't been able to stop laughing and replaying that part for the last 10 minutes.
The device looks like an IP-phone. I love it. btw. I hope the fake colecovision company has way less money than Ben at this point & Ben's lawyers would sue & bankrupt the shady company.
No. Trademark is not like copyright. The person who registers it owns it. Even if the current holding company filed it fraudulently, that doesn't make Ben Heckendorm the owner.
I hope that shady POS goes bankrupt for whatever reason, and is forced to sell all that Colecovision IP to someone who will actually do it some service and honor.
I was checking out their listed TMs they own and it looks like they let BurgerTime go lol its listed as abandoned. I might be reading it wrong but I thought that was interesting
So it depends on what was written on the contract Ben signed. Even if they don't have the trademark yet, if someone agrees that they are the owner and signs a contract stating so, then they can use that as the commencement date. It's not about the dollar, it's about the signature on the statement of use.
"if someone agrees that they are the owner and signs a contract stating so, then they can use that as the commencement date." No, only the US government can decide who owns the trademark - a personal contract cannot define that. And at the time when they contacted Ben, Riverwest was still attempting to secure the trademark, and had been unsuccessful in doing so.
I don't think you understood what I meant. By signing the contract, Ben basically stated that the Riverwest company has licensed the trademark and the trademark is now considered pending. Yes, only the government can remove the pending status, but prior to that anyone can make a statement of trademark pending. However as you've noticed to have a trademark pending you need to have something, anything. That's what they got from Ben's contract. *Edit: It's also entirely legal, if not totally sketchy what they did. In essence they had Ben pay for their prototype for registration. Which while absurd is not illegal.
Ian Ferguson dude im so glad your back bud and looking and feeling a little better I hope the smoking and the healing continue lol Big fan here Ian I find myself agreeing with you more then other people.
you know these deleted emails that are gone issue keeps popping up, you know with the election and Clintons "server" issue thing? I wonder if Ben would contact whoever his email server was to obtain a digital copy of the e-mail that way some how?
Sickening greed destroying the homebrew community? This guy would get along well with the NintendoAge community! =P (No seriously, those people are disgusting.)
►Ben Heck's Portable Colecovision @ bit.ly/2rWXFf4
►More info @ Nerdly Blog - bit.ly/2rD5mX5
►To see Colecovision trademark documents:
1) Go to US trademark search bit.ly/2sbSg4o
2) Basic Word Search - click LIVE - type "colecovision" - SUBMIT QUERY
3) Click on "TSDR" under CHECK STATUS
4) Click DOCUMENTS tab
5) Have fun reading!
I would like to add that I was unaware of the Nerdly blog when we recorded this. Interesting that we came to somewhat similar conclusions on the Colecovision trademark.
dungeonseeker1uk I would watch that video so hard.
www.dailydot.com/debug/nintendo-nes-classic-relaunch-date/?fbv=gk
I think it's one whole pod cast just broken down into smaller segments. I think that is how you get the illusion of them wearing the same clothes for different podcasts.
I've read somewhere in the comments that it's Ian's fave so most likely he has a shit ton of those. He probably opens up a fresh bottle before each podcast.
The dollar is a legal requirement in contract law called "consideration." There has to be an offer, acceptance, and consideration. If a dollar wasn't exchanged as consideration it's not an actual contract. It's a little more complicated than that. But yeah
Pat and Ian: thank you very much for doing these recent videos. The Colecovision and the NES were my favorite consoles ever, and as a passionate Colecovision player with many wonderful memories from those games, it makes me happy to see the homebrew community and its fans keeping the Colecovision alive after all these years. My hope is that these videos - and your massive following - lead to more people knowing the truth about the shady activities surrounding the Coleco name; I hope this leads to the right eyes taking a deeper look at this and eventually freeing the trademarks so that they may go to better people.
My take on this is that Coleco Holdings acted fraudulently and under false pretenses when they allegedly claimed they were the trademark holders (at a time when they had no approved trademark yet). To me, it doesn't matter what rights Ben gives away - if any - in signing a contract because the contract was drawn up under false pretenses.
That alone should spark another look into the trademark and legally where Riverwest truly stands in holding it. If someone wants to contest it, and has the ability and clout to do so, this would make for an interesting case no matter the outcome. Not to mention, if their holder status is overturned, what this could mean for the Flashback consoles they sold and still have on the market. They legally cannot say they own the trademark on them, nor could they legally collect fees for its use.
Living in NJ, I saw the ad at a local game shop for the Coleco convention, and I was tempted to go but decided against it. Your video about it yesterday makes me want to go and ask them about this handheld AND the disaster they are doing with the trademark now. It's just a cluster of mess. sigh....
Hmmmmm.. kindof puts their involvement with the Coleco Chameleon in a whole new light.
I'm not sure (also not a lawyer), but I don't see how ben's handheld qualifies as 'commercial use' unless he sells them, which i don't think he does. I'm fairly certain he would be classified as a 'hobbyist' -- he created it for personal use and also as an experiment in hobby electronics.
How about we ask Leonard French everyone's favorite copyright attorney.
I wish these old companies would actually license out their brand instead of doing nothing. Allow people to make repros and homebrew for a small fee, let someone make a plug n play console, sell games digitally. Do something. It works for everyone else. I've had this Atari controller plug n play replica forever, long before Nintendo did their mini thingy. Someone's gotta be interested in buying stuff like that. Even if Coleco is a less known brand these days...
Hey Pat. You should contact TH-camr Leonard French about this. He's the lawyer that kept making videos disassembling the lawsuit against Jim Sterling. He might have some insight. Though I'm sure it will be limited since Ben cant find the paperwork he signed. Then again, someone could probably request it from "Colecovision" since I'm pretty sure they're required to keep it.
That's a good idea, and if I'm not mistaken Leonard specializes in trademark and copyright law.
0:25 ..."and I'm not a smart person" dammit I love ya Ian...that killed me
You should probably get in touch with Leonard French and see what he thinks about this situation. He's a copyright attorney, not trademark, but I'm sure he can give an informed legal opinion and potentially confirm Ian's thought process.
We were all hoping you would be covering this on the podcast. Coleco better get exposed and punished legally for this shit. We all know that $1 shit is for some shady, sneaky BS they could use against someone in later use.
Maybe I should make a TOMY Facebook page, about the raise and fall of Waterfuls, see what happens.
Oh waterfulls! I remember those!
A contract needs 3 things
1. An Offer
2. An Acceptance
3. Considerations.
The dollar fulfills the legal requirement of considerations
"Maybe someone lives in a house made out of stool, but that's just an opinion." OMFG Classic Ian! I haven't been able to stop laughing and replaying that part for the last 10 minutes.
The device looks like an IP-phone. I love it.
btw. I hope the fake colecovision company has way less money than Ben at this point & Ben's lawyers would sue & bankrupt the shady company.
If there were any justice in the world Ben would be granted the Trademark! How cool would than be!!!
Should this mean that Ben Heckendorn owns the Colecovision trademark?
I can' t claim to know the answer, but It would be Delicious it that was the case :)
No. Trademark is not like copyright. The person who registers it owns it.
Even if the current holding company filed it fraudulently, that doesn't make Ben Heckendorm the owner.
I hope that shady POS goes bankrupt for whatever reason, and is forced to sell all that Colecovision IP to someone who will actually do it some service and honor.
Pat and Ians ColecoCast
I hope somewhere down the line RWB gets out and let it go to someone competent.
just when you think you hit rock bottom a new whole opens and you continue to fall
How dare they manipulate the great Ben Heck for their own gains! HOW DARE THEY! A PLAGUE UPON THEIR HOMES!
So... Ben Heck legally owns ColecoVision? Seems fair to me.
I was checking out their listed TMs they own and it looks like they let BurgerTime go lol its listed as abandoned. I might be reading it wrong but I thought that was interesting
ballast point!!!! right on Ian. knows good beer.
Looks like River West/Coleco Holdings is digging themselves their grave.
So it depends on what was written on the contract Ben signed. Even if they don't have the trademark yet, if someone agrees that they are the owner and signs a contract stating so, then they can use that as the commencement date. It's not about the dollar, it's about the signature on the statement of use.
"if someone agrees that they are the owner and signs a contract stating so, then they can use that as the commencement date." No, only the US government can decide who owns the trademark - a personal contract cannot define that. And at the time when they contacted Ben, Riverwest was still attempting to secure the trademark, and had been unsuccessful in doing so.
I don't think you understood what I meant. By signing the contract, Ben basically stated that the Riverwest company has licensed the trademark and the trademark is now considered pending. Yes, only the government can remove the pending status, but prior to that anyone can make a statement of trademark pending. However as you've noticed to have a trademark pending you need to have something, anything. That's what they got from Ben's contract.
*Edit: It's also entirely legal, if not totally sketchy what they did. In essence they had Ben pay for their prototype for registration. Which while absurd is not illegal.
Was this podcast filmed recently? Ian is looking and acting well here. I hope it is.
I was having a really good day, and had a considerable amount of marijuana in me to boot. It was recent, as in this past tuesday.
Ian Ferguson dude im so glad your back bud and looking and feeling a little better I hope the smoking and the healing continue lol Big fan here Ian I find myself agreeing with you more then other people.
pat i know u r coming to toomanygames in june but was wondering is ian is coming along as well or is he staying back( also stay healthy lan)
pause at 8:16 ian likes what he sees
you know these deleted emails that are gone issue keeps popping up, you know with the election and Clintons "server" issue thing? I wonder if Ben would contact whoever his email server was to obtain a digital copy of the e-mail that way some how?
Will Ian Be at Too Many Games as Well?
dudes bring back the beards!
theft by deception is something
I'd imagine if river west has those e-mails after this video they have been promptly shredded and burned ;p
for a different but similar mystery in podcast form, check out This American Life's series on "patent trolls"
And the plot thickens.
Sickening greed destroying the homebrew community? This guy would get along well with the NintendoAge community! =P
(No seriously, those people are disgusting.)
Ben dose not have a copy of the email or the contract? That’s weird
ian looks like ben heck
God I missed Ian
High Ian is best Ian
awesomeness
#FreeColecovisionTrademark #NoDuchbaggery #DeadProduct #make
#AskLeonard
ian is so lit
Interdasting ....
It's all Ben's fault!!!! ;-)
Wow, so crappy.
3rd, Hello Pat!