What happened to Gidol?
On October 17, 2006, I received a Cease & Desist order
from FremantleMedia North America, demanding the
immediate cessation of all activities made available
at the website and the transfer
of the domain googleidol.com to Fremantle.
Fremantle claimed that Gidol is "clearly designed to trade
on, in bad faith, Fremantle's goodwill in the Idol
Trademarks", and that "Gidol cannot escape the conclusion
that to the average consumer, [googleidol.com] appears
to have been created, endorsed, sponsored, licensed
or authorized by Fremantle or its broadcasters."
They also state that "As a consequence of this, consumers
have no reason to seek out licensed online Idols websites,
which will deprive Fremantle and its licensees of
revenue and stand to cause significant damage to
the goodwill of the Idol programs and their related
marks."
I refute these statements wholeheartedly and initially
intended to fight these claims, however it soon became
clear that as a tiny company of even tinier means,
there was very little I could do to support myself
against this corporate giant. It was also clear that
their heavy-handed approach was
intended to scare me away from the community that
I had developed.
Since its creation on March 1st, 2006, Gidol has grown
from a one person company with the support of a very
loving partner - let's call her Brooke - to a one
person company today, supported by an enormous community
of dedicated and passionate individuals. When I first
mentioned that Gidol was under threat, it was the
immediate response from this community that helped
me get through.
Well today marks an important day in the evolution of
our website, the growth of our community and the
guaranteed entertainment for millions of our visitors.
So update your bookmarks to bopsta.com and
join me in the next chapter of this wonderful online
frontier that each and every one of you is helping
to create.
From the bottom of my heart I thank you for your support,
dedication and most importantly, your wonderful performances. The
future looks very bright, so as usual, tell your
friends!
To discuss this, please go to the forum: http://www.bopsta.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=748
Always yours,
Ben Petro
ben@bopsta.com
