Wal-Mart Wants to Stomp on Free Speech countersuit against Georgia residen

[Omaha Steve]

http://action.citizen.org/content.jsp?content_KEY=1664&t=BlankTemplate.dwt

Lots of info at several links.

uly 2006

Dear Defender of Free Speech,

Wal-Mart has done it again -- it has filed a countersuit against Georgia resident Charles Smith for his most recent criticism of him -- which consists of his creating a Web site called walqaeda.com.

Charles Smith is a private individual who was first sued by Wal-Mart for an earlier Web site that critized the giant store. Public Citizen is representing Charles Smith and defending his right to speak his opinions about the retail chain. (Read the press release or read the full complaint (pdf).)

Wal-Mart is attempting to bully Charles Smith into silence. And it is using its vast resources to do it. Public Citizen's client does not have the resources to shoulder the full burden of the fight. Fortunately for Charles Smith and free speech, Public Citizen's attorneys are on the case. But we need your help as we defend your rights. Click here to make a generous donation.

Your free speech -- on the Internet and off -- is critical to us. Public Citizen has been in the forefront of the legal defense of the First Amendment right to maintain a gripe site, defending against claims that challenge the domain names of gripe sites, the use of meta tags or other devices to call the public's attention to the sites, and baseless claims that are invoked as a basis for shutting down critics. Click here to see other sites we are defending.

In the case of Charles Smith, Public Citizen does not need to match Wal-Mart's budget. But we do need your help to stop Wal-Mart from running roughshod over its critics. Your tax-deductible contribution can help make all the difference to keeping free speech alive. Contributions will be used for Public Citizen's expenses in its fight against Wal-Mart, a fight that has just expanded with Wal-Mart's new suit. In the event Public Citizen should raise more than the expenses in this case, the excess will go to support its other fights to protect health, safety and democracy. When you donate, we will keep you informed about how the case is going.

Sincerely,
Your Advocates at Public Citizen

[napi21]

1. I wish Smith a lot of luck! I'm not an attorney, but I have testified

in several trademark infringement cases for the Cos I worked for. One of the MAIN questions in each of them was "Would a reasonable man get the two marks confused?" If a customer were shopping and encountered the "offending Mark" would they likely think it belonged the the "Owner" of the Mark? As far as I can tell, it is very obvious tht no one could think that either of Mr. Smith's Marks could be confused and throught to be owned by, sponsored by, or supported by Wal-Mart! Short of throwing $$ at the judge, I can't see WM winning this one!

[jaxx]

2. Ya gotta admit, walqaeda is funny!

[Joe Bacon]

3. "WALQUAEDA" I love it!

Precisely what they are. The last time I went to the Walquaeda Mart in Long Beach, I thought I went through a portal into a third world country. It is an eternal monument to cheese. I sure am glad there's a COSTCO nearby that is always clean, tidy, filled with very nice people who go out of their way to make you feel wanted and has better quality that Walquaeda Mart. I always tell them "I'd rather be here than at Whore Mart" and it gets a laugh from all of them.

I still remember when there was a nasty train wreck right by the Costco store in Los Feliz, and Costco employees flocked to the scene to see what they could do to help. They brought blankets, pillows, and medical supplies to injured people. If they were Whore Mart, they would have stayed in the store and did nothing.

Made me COSTCO FOR LIFE

http://www.costco.com

[Posteritatis]

4. I'm fond of "walmartians" ("the worst kind of Martians!"), myself. (n/t)