This just came in. It starts with a letter from a lawyer for British Petroleum. This is going to get funny. Stay tuned...
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Use of a website... infringing copyright on the trademarks of BP p.l.c.
Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:15:09 -0000
From: White, Robert S C
Dear Sirs,
My name is Robert White and I work in Group Trade Marks - part of the
Legal Department of BP p.l.c.
Our responsibilities extend to protecting the BP brand and trade marks
which includes monitoring the internet for infringements and fraudulent
activities.
Our attention has been drawn to the existence of the following web pages.
http://www.theyesmen.org/agribusiness/beyondpetrol/
You will note that these pages bear a remarkable similarity to the
genuine www.bp.com
You will observe that the webpages in question include multiple
reproductions of the BP logo. BP p.l.c. has not authorised this and
submit that this infringes the copyright in BP's trademarks.
In addition, we are concerned that there is a real risk of that genuine
visitors could be confused and being diverted away from the genuine
www.bp.com
to the "Contact Us" page
http://www.theyesmen.org/agribusiness/beyondpetrol/contactusdisplay.html
You will see that there are a number email addresses listed all ending
in "@beyondpetrol.com". BP neither owns the www.beyondpetrol.com
attached to the domain.
Whilst we do not object to the www.theyesmen.org
appearing at the http://www.theyesmen.org/agribusiness/beyondpetrol/
level (and below) in the hierarchy of the site.
[...]
Yours faithfully,
*Robert White*
BP p.l.c.
Group Trade Marks
20 Canada Square
London
E14 5NJ
United Kingdom
Direct Line: +44 (0) 207 948 5726
Fax: +44 (0) 207 948 7723
Email: robert.white2@bp.com
/BP p.l.c., a company registered in England and Wales with the
company number 102498 and whose registered office is 1 St James's
Square, London SW1Y 4PD/
/The information contained in this electronic transmission may be
confidential and/or privileged. Access to this electronic transmission
by anyone other than the intended recipient(s) is unauthorised. If you
have received it in error please notify the sender immediately. Please
then delete the e-mail and do not disclose its contents to any person./
/Within the bounds of law electronic transmissions through internal and
external networks may be monitored to ensure compliance with internal
policies and legitimate business purposes./
--------Response---------
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:09:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: Andy Bichlbaum
To: "White, Robert S C"
Subject: Use of a website... infringing copyright on the trademarks of BP p.l.c.
Dear Mr. White, BP p.l.c.,
Thank you very much indeed for taking the time to write to us in regard to your company's website, BP.com.
First of all, please allow me to say that we do completely understand and
sympathize with the hurt that your company has every right in the world to feel, and we deeply apologize for occasioning this emotion.
And although we do know that there can be no excuse at all for this slight, I would beg your indulgence for just one minute, so that I might try to explain our side of the story, such as it is.
Back in 2006, we began preparing some satires on a number of companies that we considered to be the world's prime malefactors, in order to help expose their monstrous crimes in a humorous way. These companies included ExxonMobil, Halliburton/KBR, and a number of other entities, including your own.
Sadly, while we did get around to fully realizing some of the spoofs -
including the ones on Exxon and Halliburton - we actually *forgot* about
yours shortly after we began work on it, and it thus remained in the
execrable half-finished state in which, to your horror, you found it last
week. It didn't even have its own URL!
I would like to sincerely apologize to your company on behalf of the Yes
Men. Like morons, we were misled by appearances. Like morons, we thought - or rather, felt - that the malefaction of those other companies was more... maleficent than your own.
Yes, we can be real morons sometimes. There is no doubt of that.
But I am here to tell you today that we are making efforts. We now
understand that objectively, BP does every bit as much damage to this planet as does Exxon, Halliburton, or any other more obviously nefarious company, regardless of its carefully engineered professions of decency and concern. And we are ready today to prove our maturity, sincerity, and newfound intelligence by offering you a fully realized spoof of your own:
http://beyond-petrol.com/. We have likewise deleted the offending
pages you refer to below.
I know that our admissions today may be rubbing salt in your wounds, but I do hope that this website can in some way make amends. Any relationship, after all, must start from a place of truth and honesty, not deceit and subterfuge. This is the honest truth, and so this is where we begin.
Again, please accept our deepest apologies, and our hopes for a better
future.
Yours most faithfully indeed,
The Yes Men