Finally: Craigslist Launches a Blog of Their Own

April 3rd, 2008 | by Tim |

new-craigslist-blog.jpg

A month after we launched craigslistblog.org, the good people at craigslist launched their own blog. Oh, and shortly thereafter, I received the following request from their CEO, Jim Buckmaster, to shut ours down:

Tim,

We need you to stop using the infringing domain CRAIGSLISTBLOG.ORG immediately, and arrange for tranfer of it to us asap - using/selling/transfering infringing domains is illegal, and penalties up to $100,000 per domain can be applied.

Regardless of your efforts to find a new domain, you must stop using this one.

Furthermore, the title “craigslist blog” is infringing, and needlessly confusing to members of the media and the general public, and must be changed.

Also, Best-of-Craigslist” as a category header is infringing, and individual Best-of-Craigslist ads are not available for reprinting.

Finally, we do not permit commercial use of craigslist postings or excerpts thereof.

Please let us know your plans for complying with each of these requirements.

I’ve CC’d Grace Stanton from Perkins Coie, who will be taking over here if we do not receive a satisfactory response.

Thanks,

Jim


This was my response:

Jim,

Thanks for your message. I think you have received bad legal counsel and that this is potentially a really bad PR move for cl. We will make some modifications to our “Best of” section to not include any of your content; just our take and a link to the actual post.

Are you going to ask these folks to shut down their websites, too?

http://craigscrimelist.org

http://www.craigslistmap.info/

http://crazedlist.org/

et al…

Regards,
Tim White

and then a few minutes later I was cc’d on an email from Jim to their legal counsel:

Grace,

Unfortunately it sounds like Tim may prefer to go the legal route here.

Unless you hear otherwise from him shortly, please proceed.

Tim, FYI, in addition to craigslist, Perkins Coie also does intellectual property work for Google, and for a lot of other prominent companies.

But if you’re confident you have better legal information regarding craigslist’s trademarks and copyrighted information than we do, then of course you should have nothing to worry about.

Thanks,

Jim

This seems to go against everything Craigslist stands for… To Be Continued.

Related post: Craigslist’s Official New “Blog” Isn’t Really a Blog


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  1. 55 Responses to “Finally: Craigslist Launches a Blog of Their Own”

  2. By Scott Kliorin on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    This is a sad, sad day for craigslist. Possibly the first step in looking like the Wal-Marts of the world.

  3. By Trench Reynolds on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    What if you change it to “The Unofficial Craigslist Blog”?

    Or “The Craigslist Blog You Can Actually Subscribe To”?

  4. By Sean on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    Craigslist needs to get serious about it’s reputation. They are going to have to come up with a some kind of deterrent for the criminal vulnerability in their process. When was the last time you heard of someone having their house burglarized, or attacked based on a classified ad in the local newspaper?
    They continue to distract themselves with shouting matches like the AG reference above instead of addressing the obviuos problems. They could keep their utopian ideals and still make some adjustments in their process to deter the rep hitting activities while at the same time providing some basic environmental protections to their userbase.

  5. By Christian B. on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    You’re pushing the limits, but legally are on safe grounds. As much as they’d like to, companies like Google can’t touch sites such as http://www.myadwordsexpert.com and http://www.adwordsstrategy.com because they don’t use their logo and don’t represent themselves to “be” Google. As far as I can see, you aren’t trying to make people think you are craigslist.

    Good luck in your fight!

  6. By Joanne Harrington on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    I think craigslist needs to spend more time helping people like the guy in Oregon who got scammed than worrying about this blog. Their blog doesn’t even seem like a real blog anyway.

  7. By Robert Goldrich on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    I know of a good intellectual property attorney who would probably take your case on pro bono. This is more bad press for craigslist.

  8. By Chris on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    don’t forget to spread the word and digg it!

    http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Finally_Craigslist_Launches_a_Blog_of_Their_Own

  9. By Cynthia R. on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    I think if Craigslist tries to bully others, it will lose a lot of credibility and readership.

    I thought their whole premise was about “free speach” and “open culture”. What’s next, having their employees wear drab, brown communist attire?

  10. By Fidel on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    Jim seems like a really cool guy… huh? Personally, he is pretty insecure and that is why he whips these phrases out.

    Maybe not that kijkjijijjnikjiii site, but some other company will wipe its *** with Jim.

  11. By Dan on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    And don’t even think of posting about this on the discussion board thingy they now have for their “blog” — Jimmy’s so butthurt that they have it set to automatically delete posts they don’t like.

    They may take you to court, but they will lose and you can make them pay you legal fees and damages.

  12. By jeanne on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    Ha - this is too funny. Craigslist caught on a little too late. Now they are pissed that someone else came up with the idea to do a blog. Good for you Tim, for not shutting down your site. Fight those greedy, filthy s.o.b’s.

  13. By david Tapper on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    They don’t have RSS/newsfeed on their “blog”! Not a blog in my opinion.

    Good luck in your fight!

  14. By Amber on Apr 3, 2008 | Reply

    Craigslist has a responsibility to protect the public from spammers, scammers and looters. If they don’t they will be facing lawsuits and court costs.

  15. By Dre on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    I am always one to route for the underdog but you are in the wrong here. Seriously, You need to shut down. It’s not worth your time and money to persue this. There are thousands of ideas out there. Do something else.

  16. By Michael Wexler on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    If you think that you have a good case, you can post about it at http://www.chillingeffects.org/ which is a clearinghouse for perceived abuses of C & D copyright actions.

  17. By Carlos Pero on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    You’re toast. “Craigslist” is a trademark. Your domain has “craigslist” in it and furthermore to a new user “craigslistblog.org” will cause confusion. The other sites you cite do not have “craigslist” in the name.

    Bad PR or not, Craigslist wants to be around for a very long time, and are legally compelled to protect their trademarks otherwise they will lose the right to them.

  18. By Carlos Pero on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Oops, one does…”craigslistmap.info”, my bad. Trademark argument still stands though. USPTO search results here: http://tinyurl.com/3n6s8s

  19. By Dan on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Seriously… why would you have name your blog in such a way?

    C’mon, you did it to leech traffic from the craigslist site, pure and simple - let’s not kid ourselves here.

    Just for the record, I could care less either way…

  20. By Richard on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Perhaps craigslist should just change their name to “dicksinsuits”. That would satisfy truth in advertising and any infringement issues.

  21. By Don on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    They (craigslist) have spent a long time building up their website.

    It’s obvious that someone using the name “CraigslistBlog” is obviously trying to cash in on that name. If they use such a name is should be made very clear from the onset of every page they are not associated with said independent company.

    Examples of this are common on the internet for fan sites. It is made very clear that fan sites are unofficial in nature, or often provide links straight to the real thing.

  22. By Mat Jones on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    You know if he would have sounded a little more professional and POLITE and it were me i would have considered it. But instead he whips lawsuit out in the first three lines. To make matters worse he then tries yet again to threaten you with a CC of a letter to his legal dept?

    I hope you continue to use this domain! I dislike people that whine and bitch about the little stuff. Especially the ones who sue for B/S.

  23. By Lb969 on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    “We need you to stop using the infringing domain CRAIGSLISTBLOG.ORG immediately, and arrange for tranfer of it to us asap - using/selling/transfering infringing domains is illegal, and penalties up to $100,000 per domain can be applied.”

    Wait. Using/Selling/TRANSFERRING infringing domains is illegal, yet they want you to transfer it to them?

    Does anyone else see the flaw here?

  24. By Retards on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Come on people.
    Let’s take a moment and go down memory-lane.
    When a site/company gets large, they become greedy.

    Current: Craigslist
    Prior: Ebay, Walmart, Amazon, Apple, Google
    Before that: can’t remember anymore.

    Did you honestly think that you can make a domain called “insert-company-name”blog.com/net/org?

    Especially a BIG company? Get real. Every single company has done this in the past.

    And just as you think, it is bad PR for those companies to do these kinds of things, but do you see their profits dropping? NO.
    Do you see their visitors dropping? NO.
    Do you see their page rank decreasing? NO.
    Does the overwhelming majority of internet surfers care about bad PR from actions like this (meaning like 99.99% of people that use the internet)? NO.

    I guess that sums it up.

  25. By NF9 on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    You will probably lose. Craiglistblog implies it is tied to the site. Anyone with common sense will agree.

  26. By Richard Davies on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Wow! That Jim—what a bully! Trying to sound all mean and tough and trying to get you to comply by using scare tactics.

    As much as I love Craigslist, this is seriously causing me to reconsider my opinion. I hope that you fight this and win.

  27. By David on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    He didn’t even say please, it’s all “i need this, gimme gimme” playground BS.

    Fight the good fight, buddy, kick his posterior.

  28. By Andrew on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    I think craigslist is within their rights here. Trench Reynolds had good advice in suggesting you change your name to the “Unofficial Craig’s List Blog.” Otherwise, you seem to be representing yourself as craigslist. And we all know that pod-people’s only goal is world domination.

  29. By hartage on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    You are riding on the popularity that craigslist has developed. In short a parasite. Here is an idea…. how about timsblog.com you would then be riding on your own popularity and fame rather than someone else’s.

    Craigslist built their own fame, you need to do the same.

  30. By Court on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    And an unauthorized biography isn’t bad? Everyone who thinks he’ll lose is a douchebag. It’s a blog, people talk there. I’ve always thought craigslist was a rather poorly run site. And the CC’d message to his counsel, was really bad form.

  31. By Indiana on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    This is asinine. You ARE infringing on their trademarks and you ARE intending to benefit from their existing trademark.

    He has every right to take legal action against you, and, yeah, his emails are pretty rude, but that’s the point of a C&D. You are supposed to feel threatened and just simply roll over — it saves them money.

    Grow up, Chuck-E-Cheese.

  32. By st on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Yeah… I think you would be good if you didnt’ have their name just right there in the title of your website. There must be a better way to refer to craigslist without actually having their name in the main url? Maybe like.. CLblog or something. While I don’t think he approached you in a nice way, and tried to punk you out of your domain name with threats, I also think that any company would probably think that you’re using their name in order to popularize your own site.

  33. By Fidel on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Wow… there seems to be a lot of CL employees and friends here.

    http://www.mcdonaldsblog.org/ is available tough guys.

    Keep your site up and ignore the threats. I’m sure there will be lawyers who will take this case on contingency. Don’t let little Jim bully you with the “my lawyers work for big companies” bs.

  34. By B on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    The ‘official’ craigslist blog is NOT a blog at all, but just something it looks like they threw up because they don’t like what is going on at the ‘unofficial’ craigslistblog.org. It really makes me not want to use craigslist anymore, because it seems they don’t want to hear good or bad things about their site. The craigslist folks need to ‘get a grip’ or people like myself are going to use their competitors.

  35. By John on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    How is it that microsoftblog.com (an unofficial blog) exists without being taken down?

  36. By fairisfair on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Maybe you can sue Craigslist for infringing your trademark when they copied your blog!
    :-D

  37. By Roy on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    At the very least he could have offered to buy it from you instead of strong arming you. Wow, I thought this Craig guy was awesome, now he is just another corporate douche bag.

  38. By R on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    It seems that you don’t have much legal ground here as you do use their name in your web address and site name.

    Having said that, the guy’s a douche for:

    1) not working with you
    2) threatening you and name dropping
    3) just general doucheness(TM) behavior — perhaps his boyfriend just dumped him for another bear

    Craigslist just lost a lot of respect by the actions of a childish CEO. Idiot…Craigslist built their name on shying away from a corporate facade.

  39. By Trench Reynolds on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Maybe you can sue Craigslist for infringing your trademark when they copied your blog!

    You couldn’t pay me to cop to that crappy excuse for a blog.

  40. By Matt on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    I don’t know you and I don’t know the Craiglist guy, but you come off like a snotty kid trying to ride the coattails of their name while spouting off nonsense legal knowledge. This is a very simple case. You’re infringing on multiple grounds and there is no gray area there. I can’t blame the Craigslist guy for being rude, it’s rude that you’re even challenging the C&D. It was fun while it lasted and you’re getting the attention you wanted from the start, right?

  41. By Thomas on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    - I really don’t think people accept legal advice from comment posters on the internet.
    - Its NOT rude to challenge a C&D. The C&D system was DESIGNED to allow for challenges.
    - Outside of the faux blog Craigslist JUST STARTED, he’s not competing with Cragislist in any way.
    - The law allows for commentary. You can’t sue a newspaper for having a “Technology” section because you have the word “Tech” or “Technology” or “Technologies” in your companies name.
    - The term “blog” in the URL clearly states that what this site is, a blog. If Craigslist wants to create a blog, they own the ACTUAL Craigslist.com URL. They can put one up at Craigslist.com/blog, for example. They could even use craigslist.com/theofficialblogendorcedbycraigslist… you get the idea.

  42. By ScytheNoire on Apr 4, 2008 | Reply

    Sending lawyers after you is the same as sixty years ago and sending a bunch of thugs after you. Corporations have replaced the mafia, and lawyers have replaced thugs. Same old story, different people, same outcome. Don’t expect the law to be on your side, as corporations own America.

  43. By FormerCraigslistUser on Apr 5, 2008 | Reply

    Whether Jim is “right” or not is not the issue. He probably is right, but the point is, why does he have to act like such a rude jackass and treat you that way? A polite letter with perhaps even a thank-you would have been enough. Instead he shows what a worthless d*ck he is, and uses his newfound corporate power to intimidate “the little guy.”

    I’m done using craigslist now. Jim Buckmaster is a bullying jerk.

  44. By cybrsage on Apr 5, 2008 | Reply

    For all those who say a company name cannot be used in a website:

    http://wakeupwalmart.com/
    http://walmartwatch.com/
    http://www.walmartmovie.com/

    I rest my case.

  45. By Bruno Daniel on Apr 14, 2008 | Reply

    Maybe it’s time for another Google bomb. What about the words “greedy bastards”?

  46. By Bully Buster on May 9, 2008 | Reply

    Interestingly, the mark CRAIGSLIST was registered since about 2000 or so with the US Trademark Office but Craigslist does not seem to use the (R) symbol. Similarly, it is interesting that craiglist goes by the .org when it is not a nonprofit.

    These acts, as well as other acts by Craigslist relating to the Ebay v Craigslist lawsuit, seem to suggest a pattern of deception. It is my opinion that Craig and Jim are not looking out for the interests of the “community.” They are seeking to expand their own economic powers by treading on the legal right of others.

  47. By Chicago on May 20, 2008 | Reply

    A good man would prefer to be defeated than to defeat injustice by evil means.

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