About Us ThisisBigBrother.com

Sticks · 10-01-2011, 05:59 PM

Today while looking at one of my trailer videos I discovered that others may have used the term Mystical Realms.

After looking at Google I found this commercial website. Well I say commercial as people pay to use certain levels.

I also noted that my Mystical Realms stories also show up, so if they were googling as well I would show up.

There is a danger of precipitating action, but I have sent them this email

Quote:

Hello

I stumbled on your website by chance today, because of something I spotted on youtube and later on Google

After looking at your site I thought I ought to contact you, as on a completely different forum I published a number of stories using the name "Mystical Realms", which I came up with independently, and was worried that if you had come across my stories, you might thing that I had deliberately infringed on the copyright of the name of your website.

First a bit of history,

Back in 2001 here in the UK, on the Channel 4 Reach forum, which no longer exists, I had problem with what they called then a flame attack. One of the main subjects we were talking about back then, pre 9/11 was the UK Big Brother second series and two contestants Helen and Paul who kind of got together and stayed together for five years before splitting up.

As I was saying, there was this flame attack at me personally, and so I kind of resorted to a sort of storyline on that forum, starting in the style of Sam Spade, and most of it was told in the format of newspaper clippings, from a press in an alternative universe where all sorts of fantasy creatures co-existed. During the storyline I referred to this world as The Mystical Realms (24/8/2001)

I took copies of what I was doing and placed them on one of my websites which can be found here http://www.stickings90.webspace.virg.../mythology.htm

In 2002 I did try and do a sequel, but it never quite worked out but what I did do I later called season two as it did make it to my website

I later joined a forum called www.thisisbigbrother.com which discussed mainly the UK Big Brother Reality TV series. One of the threads there was a sort of interactive fan fiction story, based on that UK Big Brother second series.

In 2007, on the forum I suggested to an admin on that forum that a new fan fiction section should be created which could also be for people writing stories. To my supprise it was accepted and this new section was created. As it was my suggestion I felt I ought to contribute to this new section so I remembered what I had done in 2001 and 2002 and thought I would to do a "several years on" story based on that fantasy world set up I created. As this was a big brother forum, that story, I called Season three had to use the hook of the 2007 UK Big Brother game show as background,

I have since done a number of "Mystical Realms" stories on that forum and I took the stories well away from the UK Big Brother game show, although in some of the later stories I did make allusions to the early origins in an obleaque manner. In these later stories I brought in a "what if Earth authorities got involved" as a conceptual plot device and brought in the scence of parallel universes and M-Theory.

The only places I have published on the internet where I have used the name "Mystical Realms" have been the forum, www.thisisbigbrother.com, two of my websites, where I was giving the history of my stories. Youtube, where I did trailers so I could embed them in the forum and on Facebook so I could hotlink to images I had gathered which i used to illustrate my stories on that forum.

I was not certain if you had come across the forum I post on, as it does show up on Google, but I wanted to assure you that came up with the name independently and it was not until today that I even discovered the existance of you website using the same name of the world in my stories. I had no desire or intention to infringe any copyright of your name, because as I have stated, it was not until today that I discovered the existance of your organisation. Currently I have no plans to commercially exploit the stories that I published. (There would have to be a number of script changes due to copyright issues with respect to the Big Brother game show and one of the seasons where I dabbled with cross-over fan fiction and another alternate world which was based on a National Geographic television show)

So the question I am worried about now, is just by using the name Mystical Realms for my stories, was I in copyright violation, even though it was not until today I was aware of this commercial website.

Any IPR lawyers out there?

Locke. · 10-01-2011, 06:05 PM

"First a bit of history,"

Quality Sticks. Keep up the good work

Stu · 10-01-2011, 06:14 PM

I somehow doubt the owners of that website care that some dude is writing fantasy fanfic that happens to share the name 'Mystical Realms'.

I could be wrong but ... you know ... it's just a hunch.

Smithy · 10-01-2011, 06:16 PM

*sues sticks*

Sticks · 10-01-2011, 06:20 PM

There is also another similar website with the name Mystical Realms.

It just happened to be a name I created on 24 August 2001 during the initial postings I did on the old Channel 4 Reach forum.

GypsyGoth · 10-01-2011, 07:35 PM

I'll be the star witness if there is a court case

Niamh. · 10-01-2011, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GypsyGoth

I'll be the star witness if there is a court case

they'd never take you seriously with your record

GypsyGoth · 10-01-2011, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Niamh.

they'd never take you seriously with your record

Well then, I'll be a witness for the other side

I'll get Sticks sent away for a long time.

Niamh. · 10-01-2011, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GypsyGoth

Well then, I'll be a witness for the other side

I'll get Sticks sent away for a long time.

you would too

GypsyGoth · 10-01-2011, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Niamh.

you would too

Then the Mystical Realms will be all mine!! Muhahaha!!!

Shasown · 10-01-2011, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sticks

Today while looking at one of my trailer videos I discovered that others may have used the term Mystical Realms.

After looking at Google I found this commercial website. Well I say commercial as people pay to use certain levels.

I also noted that my Mystical Realms stories also show up, so if they were googling as well I would show up.

There is a danger of precipitating action, but I have sent them this email

So the question I am worried about now, is just by using the name Mystical Realms for my stories, was I in copyright violation, even though it was not until today I was aware of this commercial website.

Any IPR lawyers out there?

Nope you are safe as houses, unless you try trading on the name or trademark of a commercial enterprise that has an established reputation under that name.

As you dont sell your stories, you arent making any commercial gain at their loss.

Depending on the history of their usage of the name, they could ask you to change the names of your stories, but they dont have the right to insist without resorting to legal threats.

Even then most solicitors/lawyers will tell them its expensive for them to pursue people through the courts and it generates bad publicity for them. And to prove intellectual ownership of a term that is and has been widely used both by spiritual sites and fantasy writers would be next to impossible for them.

Also if one particular user of the name decided to ask you to change the names of the stories, because of a copyright on the term "Mystical Realms" they would have to ask all other users to refrain from using it without permission.

Again you dont have to do that until copyright ownership of the term was proven in a court.

Sticks · 11-01-2011, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GypsyGoth

Well then, I'll be a witness for the other side

I'll get Sticks sent away for a long time.

Did I offend you some how?

If so I'm sorry, and what did I do?

Sticks · 11-01-2011, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shasown

As you dont sell your stories, you arent making any commercial gain at their loss.

If some media mogul came across them and wanted to make a series of block buster films, how would they get permission to use the name?

Not that this is going to happen, especially as the early stories referenced Big Brother and I used two characters from a particular TV series in my season four.

GypsyGoth · 11-01-2011, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sticks

Did I offend you some how?

If so I'm sorry, and what did I do?

Nooo! Of course you haven't Sticks

I was just joking.

Smithy · 11-01-2011, 10:09 PM

God Claudia, you're such a bitch

GypsyGoth · 11-01-2011, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smithy

God Claudia, you're such a bitch

I'll get you sent away too!

Sticks · 04-02-2011, 07:14 PM

I finally got a reply

Quote:

Hello,

Thank you for your email concerning our mutual name. I'm sorry it took me so long to reply.

As the owner of myrealms.net and Mystical Realms, I understand that sometimes names can be independently created by separate people. We have no intention of going through the internet and making everyone that has our name take it down. Perhaps if our sites were similar, or you created a site that copied ours, my partner and I might take issue with that. But as it stands, I think that people looking for our site will find us, and people looking for yours will find yours and we can mutually exist.

I wish you continued success with your endeavor,

T Lozano
Owner of Mystical Realms

GypsyGoth · 04-02-2011, 07:43 PM

A happy ending

Shasown · 04-02-2011, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sticks

If some media mogul came across them and wanted to make a series of block buster films, how would they get permission to use the name?

Not that this is going to happen, especially as the early stories referenced Big Brother and I used two characters from a particular TV series in my season four.

The Media Mogul would hire a firm of consultants who would use paralegals to find out if there was any intellectual copyright on the name and the outline of the story.

If there was, they would either approach or use a third party to approach and arrange a copyright licence, basically permission to use the idea/name etc. Royalties or simply credits to would be sorted out etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sticks

I finally got a reply

Yeah nicely worded too, best of luck with the stories, Sticks.

Sticks · 26-11-2011, 06:42 PM

With things like this, no wonder Season Twelve has been delayed by I suspect our Legal department.

Novo · 26-11-2011, 06:47 PM

Any teasers or previews for Season 12?

Judas · 26-11-2011, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Novo

Any teasers or previews for Season 12?

I'd like to know this also, I have all of the promos from previous seasons saved to my hard drive and DVD's. The sound on my 50 inch HD tv really gets me.