Among the things that have been helping to keep me preoccupied with other than adding stuff to the site:<br><br>Released To The Public April 24, 2002<br><br>March 18, 2002<br>Chandler, Arizona<br>EMBARGO UNTIL SUBPOENAS SERVED <br><br>Ritter and Equipped To Survive Foundation Sue to Protect Trademark<br><br>Douglas Ritter and Equipped To Survive Foundation, Inc., owners of the Equipped To Survive trademark, today filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Phoenix, Arizona, against Christopher H. McKiernan and Kristen K. McKiernan of San Luis Obispo, California, doing business as Equipped to Survive, and Mayday Industries, Inc. of Huntington Beach, California, for trademark infringement.<br><br>The defendants have registered the Internet domains www.equippedtosurvive.com, www.equippedtosurvive.net and www.equippedtosurvive.org, have illegally applied for a federal trademark registration and have opened a business selling survival and emergency gear under the Equipped To Survive name and domains, infringing upon the long established trademark and name, Equipped To Survive™.<br><br>All attempts by Ritter and the Foundation to settle this matter amicably have been rebuffed, leaving no option but to pursue legal action<br><br>A copy of the full complaint can be found at: http://www.equipped.org/complaint_ets.pdf

Go get em'!<br><br>I visited their site and they are selling junky 'survival kits'. Nothing special.<br>Hope they go down for using yer name!<br><br>

Doug: Good for you. This is what the legal system should be about - not making people instant millionaires because some high school kid spilled their coffee, but protecting the legitimate interests of honest people.

Don't even begin to think this is a good example of our legal system at work. It is extremely biased against the honest person, which is exactly what they depend upon. <br>

We hope so too! We're betting a good deal on it.

I have been in the Emergency Preparedness and Extreme Cold Survival Business for many years. I have seen many knock offs spring up that are in the business for the quick buck and usually are conceived as a result of some sort of emergency or disaster which suddenly perks the perceived needs of the general public.<br><br>In most cases the gear is shoddy, the advice is wrong and as soon as an emergency or disaster situation happens which requires using the gear from said vendor the poopie hits the fan.<br><br>Nail the Bastards. Good Luck!<br><br>Mariner.<br><br>PS. Although I am new to this site. I consider it home. Got a lot of good people here.

I've got $5 on Doug!!!!<br><br>Peanut

This sounds like the perfect opportunity for responsible consumer activism. It could be argued that sportsmen have contributed greatly to the demise of KMart. Perhaps the survival "hobbiest" could actively boycott their endeavors and spread the word?

Robert,<br><br>Thanks for your support. I'd like to beleive that shoddy operations don't succeeed, but I've seen far too many make lots of money on the gullible public. But, then, I'm a professional cynic. <br>

Andy,<br><br>Unfortunately, I don't think they depend upon emergency preparedness enthusiasts for their sales. They seem to be selling to the great unwashed masses. The only thnbg that appears might make an impression is a heavy object, like a court order...

Hi Doug,<br><br>It takes a lot of balls register somebody else's trademark in the .com domain and it takes even more balls to register it in the .net as well as the .org domain which is specifically for not-for-profit organizations. And then to place the following in the legal disclaimer section of their web site: "All right, title, and interest in and to this Web site is owned by the Equipped To Survive. The Web site is protected by United States copyright law and international treaty provisions, including without limitation the Berne Convention. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are proprietary to Equipped To Survive. All rights not expressly licensed hereunder are reserved by Equipped To Survive." I don't see how those guys can even walk now. ;^)<br><br>I hope Mayday gets what they deserve. Good luck, Doug,<br><br>DK

Doug,<br><br>What does this make now? Three lawsuits? Ouch. How goes the plagary (sp?) one, btw?<br><br>On a related note, how are you paying for all of these lawyers? Can you use funds donated to ETS? I ask because I haven't donated anything yet. I really can't afford to, but we can't afford the $10.00 my wife throws away at church every week either so....<br><br>Take care,<br><br>Andy

Good for you. I typed in equippedtosurvive.com looking for this site a few weeks ago and ended up at their site. <br><br>Wow, I thought, looks like there have been some major web-page redesign going on. I remembered that your site used to say that you did not have kits available for sale, so I figured that you had changed your mind about that. <br><br>Then I noticed that the kits offered were mostly crap and I said, Wait a minute. Then I looked more closely and realized that the site was a knock-off of your motto.<br><br>What a shame.<br><br>Good luck with the suit.<br>

Andy,<br><br>No, just one lawsuit, two defendants. The plagiarism issue with Multimedia International in NYC is currently in negotiations between lawyers. I'm hopeful, but not by much, that we will reach a settlement and avoid a lawsuit.<br><br>Contributions are always welcome. You're not the only one who hasn't, 99.99% of those who visit ETS have not. We haven't yet decided what to do about that.<br><br>I am paying for the lawsuit out of our pocket, in expectation that eventually it will all work out. Thankfully, I have a more or less understanding and supportive wife, who I probably do not deserve. The only alternatives are to allow him to steal my trademark, which I won't allow. <br><br>Thanks for your support.

Thanks for posting your experience, that's exactly the sort of thing we see as the problem. I appreciate your support.

DK,<br><br>With any luck, he'll have greater trouble walking with our boot jammed up his you know what. The audacity of people like this guy is almost beyond my comprehension, which is, of course, exactly what they pray upon. Thanks for your support.

I'm just a post-doc. Poorer than a grad student b/c I have student loan payments now as well, but I will make a contribution on the first. Like others, I choose my charities carefully and I will definately add you to the list...<br><br>Church of the Advent Episcopal<br>Local Hospice<br>Local Battered Womens Shelter<br>Local Allbreed Canine Rescue<br><br>Orgs.<br><br>NRA<br>SAF<br>and now starring<br>Equipped.org<br>

Uh, I filed a testimonial at their site. I hope they like it.

Unfortunately, I doubt they give a [censored].<br><br>

Each of us can do only what we can afford. Anything is appreciated.

Hmmm I think I went there before...I wanted some Aqua Blox, and the folks at Aqua Blox (near Long Beach, south of LA) said that Mayday was the closest vendor, so I swung by and picked up 2 cases of Aqua Literz.<br><br>They looked busy packing all sorts of stuff for people, they said business was real busy. This was RIGHT after 9/11. Unfortunately on about 9/5 or so, my friends came over and we watched Tremors I and II (Tremors marathon) and we had a Burt Gummer party, served with my survival goodies were are close to expiring (they would have expired by now), so I started hunting for my emergency water and ration supply, and 9/11 hits us like a sack of doo doo and I can't find my supplies anywhere....

Hi, I'm new to the Forum, but have been an avid reader of Doug's equipped.org and the Forum for quite a while. <br><br>I want to be counted among those who believe that that the rip-off of the ETS name is shameful and disgusting. DR's "Equipped to Survive" is synonymous with "high integrity" because of the quality of the information and evaluations posted on the site.<br><br>I applaud and support Doug's lawsuit (and I've donated a small amount to help out). But what a terrible waste of resources, time and emotion. What a terrible abuse of a good name.

You need to add Tremors III for your next marathon. Pete

Bounce,<br><br>Thanks for your support and donation. The PITA agro factor is certianly high, but that just drives me to fight al the harder to protect my rights, regardless of the ultimate price.

>Contributions are always welcome. You're not the only one who hasn't, 99.99% of those who visit ETS have not. We haven't yet decided what to do about that.<<br><br>Make that 99.98% now. I should have made my donation before now but I would be happy if you used my donation for some boot polish to shine up the boot you are going to jam up his you know what. ;^)<br><br>Also thanks for setting up ETS to receive donations through the Network for Good. It made the process a breeze. <br><br>Good luck and keep up the good work. <br><br>DK

Thanks to you and everyone who has made a donation, whatever the size, to help with this fight. It is sincerely appreciated and it especially helps to know you all care so much.

As soon as I read this, I donated $10.00. Go tear'em a new one for me.

Much appreciated! Every little bit counts.

Just to be clear: In my post yesterday, I should have begun the first sentence of the second paragraph with the phrase "If the allegations in Doug's complaint are true, then I want to be counted . . . ." <br><br>I'm posting this clarification because I have no personal knowledge of the facts of the case and I don't want anyone who reads my post to think that I do.