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Court Voids Registrations Based on Lack of Intent to Use Trademarks
2012-01-03 06:02:00
The District of Oregon took time out during the busy holidays to clarify what it means to have a bona fide intent to use. That’s the statutory language an applicant swears to when filing a Section 1(b) application for federal registration — better known as an intent-to-use-based (ITU) application. It’s the alternative to a Section 1(a) use-based application and is a way to “reserve” a trademark registration for a mark that hasn’t yet been put to use. But the applicant does need to have that bona fide intent to put the mark to future use. In Bobosky v. Adidas AG, the District of Oregon found the applicant — an attorney — lacked that intent when he filed ITU applications to register WE NOT ME in connection with a wide variety of clothing products. Applicant W. Brand Bobosky’s applications matured to registrations when his attorney filed statements of use swearing that the marks had been put to actual use in commerce in connecti...

Feds Make Just-in-Time-for-Christmas Counterfeit Seizures
2011-12-28 05:41:00
Not to lean too heavily on the New York Time s, but I enjoyed a just-in-time-for-Christmas article it published last week on counterfeiting. The paper reported the feds recently made 177 seizures in the U.S. and Mexico that netted 327,000 counterfeit items worth $77 million and led to 33 arrests (including three in South Korea). The haul was a bit unusual because it included a large number of low-end goods: Christmas lights, football jerseys, and Angry Birds toys. Many of the fakes pose a health risk. ?Counterfeit batteries are going to explode, a counterfeit electrical cord might catch fire and burn the house down,? the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. ?Toys are always a concern. You never know what?s going into the actual manufacturing in terms of the chemicals. Obviously you don?t know whether they have been tested in terms of, are they safe for toddlers.?
More About: Counterfeiting , Make

NYT Discusses the Proposed PROTECT IP Act, Pits IP Owners Against Google
2011-12-19 05:17:00
Last week, the NYT published an article on the proposed ?PROTECT IP Act,? the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011. The article frames the issue as pitting those in favor of a means to better enforce IP rights on the Internet against those in favor of free Internet. Or to put faces on those interest groups, the Motion Picture Association of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce versus the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Google . That?s how many have couched the debate. I?m all for a free Internet, believe me. But I?m also (obviously) all for IP rights. And I can say that IP owners are getting killed by overseas infringers ? particularly counterfeiters. The article characterizes enforcement efforts through our current system as playing the arcade game of ?Whac-a-Mole,? and that?s an apt comparison.

Your Guide to Trademark Law 101
2011-12-13 05:07:00
See the Seattle Trademark Lawyer blog for a collection of trademark basics, five years in the making. I?d been meaning to corral these suggestions for new clients and new trademark owners. Hopefully these posts shed some light on this murky business (which really isn?t that murky after all). -What is a trademark? A copyright? A patent? -How to select a protectable trademark -The difference between descriptive and suggestive trademarks, and why it matters -The right way to use a trademark -What you need to know about trade dress
More About: Guide

Associated Press Reports that Colleges Are Registering .xxx Domain Names
2011-12-12 01:59:00
The Associated Press reports that colleges are registering their brands as .xxx domain names to prevent porn sites from doing so. Their strategy takes advantage of the sunrise provisions for .xxx domain names that STL previously discussed. That’s a fine strategy for brand owners who have concluded that blocking porn providers is worth the financial commitment required to register domain names the brand owners will never use. After all, a porn site associated with universityofwashington.xxx probably wouldn’t reflect well on the University of Washington (who is mentioned in the article), even though no one would think the site is owned or approved by the UW in any way. Still, it requires the UW and similar brand owners to pay a bunch of money to domain name registrars forever to continue to tie up those names. And there’s no way a brand owner can think of all possible combinations involving their brand that a porn seller might use.
More About: Domain , Domain Names , Colleges , Cybersquatting

Ninth Circuit's Sliding Scale Test for Preliminary Injunctive Relief Return
2011-12-08 06:17:00
We used to have a sliding scale in the Ninth Circuit for analyzing the elements needed to obtain a preliminary injunction, a remedy that?s potentially available in trademark infringement cases. Just a few years ago, a Ninth Circuit plaintiff needed to show either: ?(1) a likelihood of success on the merits and the possibility of irreparable injury; or (2) that serious questions going to the merits were raised and the balance of hardships tips sharply in its favor.? As the court explained, ?These two alternatives represent ?extremes of a single continuum,? rather than two separate tests?. Thus, the greater the relative hardship to [the party seeking the preliminary injunction,] the less probability of success must be shown.? See, e.g., Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. v. City of L.A., 340 F.3d 810, 813 (9th Cir.2003). Then came Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7 (2008), which reversed a Ninth Circuit preliminary injunction decision and seemingly banished the sliding sc...
More About: Return , Civil Procedure , Test , Relief

Seattle Startup Overcomes Trademark Challenge by Changing Its Name
2011-12-05 04:39:00
I came across this story on a Seattle startup. Bluebox Now is a Web-based marketing company. It had begun to build some momentum. It had a big customer and good prospects for outside funding. Then it was hit with what one of its founders described as a “doozy” of a legal problem — it got a cease-and-desist letter from an app host called the “Blue Box Group,” also based in Seattle. Bluebox Now says it’s changing its name. The founder said they thought they could win the trademark dispute, but they couldn?t afford to find out.
More About: Changing , Startup , Challenge

Trademark Case Dismissed under Washington's Anti-SLAPP Statute
2011-12-01 06:03:00
Washington’s anti-SLAPP statutes are having an effect on trademark lawsuits. The statutes, RCW 4.24.510 and .525, are intended to protect against lawsuits brought with the aim of discouraging persons from exercising their constitutional rights, otherwise known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). In Phoenix Trading, Inc. v. Steven Kayser and Loops LLC, the plaintiff alleged that defendants made a number of statements to persons within the City and State of New York about plaintiff, including that plaintiff “had obtained products manufactured by defendants, altered those products by shaving or cutting defendants’ trademarks off of the products, and then labeled the packages of those products as having been manufactured by plaintiffs, thereby falsely representing to third parties that the altered product was manufactured by plaintiffs.”
More About: Case , Civil Procedure

It's Time to Respect the Fame Requirement for Dilution Claims
2011-11-30 05:42:00
This is becoming a pet peeve of mine. Actually, it?s more than a pet peeve. I think it?s a Rule 11 violation: pleading dilution as a cause of action when the mark at issue isn?t even colorably famous. When the Trademark Dilution Revision Act was enacted, on October 6, 2006, Congress set a high standard for the amount of fame a mark must have before its owner can benefit from the super-trademark protection the dilution statute provides. It states: ?a mark is famous if it is widely recognized by the general consuming public of the United States as a designation of source of the goods or services of the mark?s owner.? See 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(2)(A). In other words, it needs to be a household name.
More About: Time , Respect , Fame , Claims

Maximizing Trademark Rights without Obtaining a Registration
2011-11-28 03:25:00
There’s often good reason to register one’s trademark. That’s true at the state level, as well as expanding one’s rights nationwide by obtaining a federal registration. But there’s also a case to be made for not registering a trademark. For one thing, it doesn’t cost anything. And because trademark rights in the United States arise from use, registration isn’t needed to get enforceable rights. Here are a few strategies trademark owners should consider to maximize their common law (unregistered) rights: -Choose a protectable trademark. This is both offensive and defensive. The stronger (typically less-descriptive) the mark is, the more you will be able to enforce your rights against confusingly similar uses. And the more unique your mark is, the less likely a third party will claim that you have infringed its prior rights. Not so if you adopt a common or “popular” trademark.
More About: Rights

One More Sports Illustrated Story on the USOC's Ham-Fisted Enforcement Effo
2009-09-23 06:15:00
Last Olympic post for a while, I promise. And I’m almost certain it’s the last time this year I’ll quote from Sports Illustrated. But here’s another gem from SI about the USOC’s ham-fisted efforts to enforce its rights to all things Olympic. From its Dec. 5, 1994 issue: “In its quest to bring home the gold, the U.S. Olympic Committee apparently believes it must send out several thousand letters every year implying that it will take legal action against businesses using, in their name or logo, the word Olympic or the interlocking rings, to which a 1978 federal law grants the USOC exclusive rights. This is a petty and merciless job, but the Lords of the Rings evidently feel somebody has to do it.” Seattle doctor Dan Nelson, who at least in 1994 owned a practice called “Olympic Spinal Care,” summed up local sentiment toward the USOC’s enforcement efforts rather nicely: “‘The general provinc...
More About: Story , Sports Illustrated

Olympic Businesses Everywhere: Sports Illustrated Nails the USOC's "Comic O
2009-09-22 07:21:00
 A reporter put me onto an excellent Sports Illustrated article written during the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul. Author Leigh Montville writes about being “On the Trail of the O-Word,” in which he concludes that ”[d]espite official efforts to curb unsanctioned use of the word ‘Olympic ,’” it is “here, there and everywhere.” To illustrate his point, he riffs on “Olympic” names he comes across in everyday life: Olympic Burger and Burrito. Olympic Fish and Meat Market. Olympic Fruit and Vegetable. Olympic Bar B Que. Olympic Pawn Shop. Olympic Van Lines. His list goes on and on. “Is there any fair-sized town that does not have an Olympic Diner somewhere on its outskirts?” he asks. “One Olympic Diner leads into two Olympic Realty offices, which lead into three Olympic Laundromats. There seem to be no boundaries. These Olympics are everywhere. Around the country. Around the world. The Olympic Di...
More About: Comic , Sports Illustrated , Nails

Despite Sending Many Letters, the USOC Has Only Brought Three Suits Since 2
2009-09-21 06:33:00
For all of the reasons discussed here, here, and here, STL has not been a fan of the United States Olympic Committee’s efforts to enforce its near monopoly rights in the U.S. over commercial use of the word “Olympic.” Is anyone really going to think the “Olympic Pizzeria” that exists in almost every town has anything to do with the Olympic Games? Nonetheless, the USOC hasn’t appeared to hesitate to dash off cease-and-desist letters to the owners of such establishments, sometimes causing small businesses to go through the expensive and disruptive process of changing their name. That’s particularly painful around here, where hundreds of companies (500 by this business owner’s count) have taken the name of the Olympic Peninsula, the Olympic Mountains, and Olympic National Park as their own. That said, the USOC has been much more circumspect about filing suit. I found it...
More About: Letters , Suits , Sending

Ninth Circuit Finds No Secondary Meaning, No Foul in Trade Dress Case
2009-09-17 07:17:00
Art Attacks’ “Spoiled Brats” designs (top) and MGA’s “Bratz” dolls:No secondary meaning, no foul Plaintiff Art Attacks Ink, LLC, sells a “Spoiled Brats” collection of t-shirts featuring cartoonish, predominantly female characters, with oversized eyes, disproportionately large heads and feet, makeup, and bare midriffs. Defendant MGA Entertainment Inc. sells “Bratz” dolls, which, like Art Attacks’ designs, feature large eyes, heavy makeup, oversized heads and feet, and bare midriffs. Art Attacks cried foul and sued for trademark and trade dress infringement, among other claims. A jury found for MGA on Art Attacks’ trademark infringement claim, but could not reach a verdict on its trade dress and other claims. MGA then moved for judgment as a matter of law, which the Southern District of California granted. Art Attacks appealed. On Sept. 16 the Ninth Circuit affirme...
More About: Dress , Trade , Meaning , Case

Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of False Advertising Claim Over Wasp Larva
2009-09-16 06:04:00
Spalding Laboratories, Inc., sued its competitor, Arizona Biological Control, Inc. (“Arbico”), for false advertising under the Lanham Act related to claims Arbico made about the developmental state of its wasps used for killing flies. The Central District of California granted Arbico’s motion for judgment against Spalding as a matter of law. On Sept. 9, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded, finding that a jury could have found for Spalding. In doing so, the court got right to the point: “The jury could have reasonably concluded that Arbico’s advertisements were literally false or that the advertisements confused or misled a significant portion of their target audience. For instance, Dr. Peterson testified that the number of emerged parasites would ‘definitely’ be lower than the number of larvae contained in a pupa, a fact that would support a finding of literal falsity if Arbico’s claims were found to refer to em...
More About: Advertising

Courts Here Don't Rubber Stamp Stipulated Motions for a Protective Order
2009-09-15 06:28:00
It happens every so often in these parts — the court denies a stipulated protective order. Suffice it to say, courts around here don’t rubber stamp litigants’ attempts to privatize court proceedings. A case in point from a Western District trademark infringement suit last week: “The parties request an expansive protective order for all confidential information that may be disclosed during the discovery phase of this proceeding. The parties have agreed to designate as ‘CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL …. any trade secret or other confidential research, design, development, financial, or commercial information.’ The parties have also agreed to designate as ‘ATTORNEYS ONLY MATERIAL’ any material that ‘is entitled to a higher level of protection due to its commercial sensitivity.’ “The Court need not enter the stipulation as an order of the Court because (1) the proposed order contains provisions that are m...
More About: Stamp , Courts , Civil Procedure , Order , Rubber

Plaintiff Alleges "Ok, Tata, Bye Bye" is Common Phrase, Does Not Infringe T
2009-09-14 06:08:00
On Sept. 4, plaintiff India-based travel service provider MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt. Ltd. brought suit in the Western District against India industrial conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd. seeking a determination that its registration of oktatabyebye.com does not violate the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. The complaint asks the court to set aside the World Intellectual Property Organization’s arbitration panel decision finding the registration violated the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and ordering that the domain name be transferred to Tata Sons. MakeMyTrip brought suit in Western District because its registrar, defendant eNom, Inc., is located in Bellevue. On Sept. 11, however, MakeMyTrip voluntarily dismissed its claim against eNom.  MakeMyTrip asserts it has legitimate rights in its domain name because the phrase, “Ok, tata, bye bye,” is an informal way in India to say goodbye. It alle...
More About: Common , Cybersquatting

Malaysian Court Says MCCURRY Does Not Infringe MCDONALD'S
2009-09-09 07:11:00
McCurry’s owners get a happy result in victory against McDonald’s.Photo credit: AP/Mark Baker On Sept. 8, a 3-judge panel of Malaysia’s federal court found a restaurant’s use of MCCURRY does not infringe McDonald’s Corp.’s rights in its well-known trademark. It’s apparently the end of the line for McDonald’s in its 8-year fight. The AP cites McCurry’s attorney as saying the ruling means McDonald’s does not have a monopoly over “MC” trademarks in connection with restaurants. “This is a precedent to follow,” he said. McCurry’s sells its curry fare in connection with white-and-grey lettering, a red background, and logo featuring a smiling chicken giving two thumbs up. McDonald’s, of course, sells its western-style fare in connection with its familiar golden arches. The court found these differences supported McCurry’s claim it isn’t passing itself off as ...
More About: Malaysian , Dilution , Court

STL Road Trips to Rainy Portland, Oregon
2009-09-08 05:12:00
Happy Labor Day! STL spent the holiday weekend not working in rainy Portland , Ore. Yesterday, I had breakfast with my better half at the deservedly popular Cadillac Cafe. Since I was on holiday, I focused on my delicious breakfast burrito — not less savory issues of infringement or dilution.  This morning we paid a visit to one of Portland’s great brands, Voodoo Doughnut, but the line was way too long for this hungry customer so we went down the block to Stumptown Coffee, another Portland icon. As luck would have it, I snagged their last VOODOO-brand donut and washed it down with a damn fine cup of coffee before heading north.
More About: Dilution , Oregon , Road , Portland Oregon

Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Two Trademark Claims, Affirms One
2009-09-03 05:51:00
In Wyatt Technology Corporation v. Smithson, the plaintiff filed suit in the Central District of California alleging trademark claims and other business torts against the defendants arising out of the bankruptcy of the Proterion Corporation. The Central District of California dismissed three of Wyatt’s trademark claims on summary judgment. On Aug. 27, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded dismissal of two of the three trademark claims and affirmed dismissal of one. The opinion doesn’t provide much additional background; the court just gets to the point: “Wyatt’s trademark claims concerning domain names could have been brought under either the Lanham Act or the Anticybersquatting Protection Act. Wyatt brought suit only under the former, so it must show a use of the mark in connection with the sale of goods. Linking to commercial business qualifies. The district court’s contrary ruling constitutes legal error. The district court also erred in ...
More About: Claims , Cybersquatting , Trademark , Fair Use

Still No USOC Lawsuits Over Seattle-Area Use of OLYMPIC as Trademark
2008-06-09 05:10:00
Not to tempt fate, but I couldn’t help but notice that the U.S. Olympic Committee has not flooded the Western District of Washington with lawsuits over Seattle -area companies’ use of OLYMPIC in their names and trademarks. (See STL posts on this issue from August 12, 2007; Jan. 10, 2008; Jan. 13, 2008; and Jan. 28, 2008). In fact, the USOC has not filed a single lawsuit in the Western District despite hundreds of Washington businesses making use of the word that has caused the USOC to send letters to some demanding that they cease and desist such use. Its heavy-handed demand letters notwithstanding, the USOC seems to have a lighter touch when it comes to filing suit. Knock on wood.
More About: Lawsuits , Area , Trademark

Seattle Search Engine Optimizer SEOmoz Opposes Effort to Register SEO as a
2008-06-07 20:43:00
Fellow Seattle law blogger Sarah Bird, general counsel of Seattle search engine optimizer SEOmoz, Inc., tipped me off in her post this week about her company’s efforts to oppose a California resident’s application to register “SEO” as a trademark with the Patent and Trademark Office. According to PTO records, in May 2007, Jason Gambert filed a use-based application for the mark in International Class 35 for “marketing services in the field of computers in the nature of providing marketing services for the benefit of others by compiling advertising campaigns, promotional services, and consulting for customers.”SEOmoz and two other companies then filed notices opposing the application. SEOmoz’s notice of opposition summarizes the examining history as follows:“In August 2007, the reviewing attorney correctly refused the application on the grounds that ‘SEO’ is (1) generic and (2) merely descriptive of ...
More About: Search , Search Engine , Engine , Register

Microsoft Collects on Default Judgment Against Spammer
2008-06-05 05:20:00
In October 2004, Microsoft Corp. filed suit against John Does 1-50, d/b/a Myauctionbiz.biz, for alleged “unauthorized use of Microsoft’s computers and computer systems to send millions of misleading and deceptive unsolicited commercial e-mail messages, or ‘spam,’ in violation of federal and state law and Microsoft policies.”Eventually, Microsoft identified a number of the unknown defendants, including Saul Waizer, a Florida resident, who Microsoft alleged was involved as an affiliate in the spam operation.Mr. Waizer did not answer Microsoft’s complaint and in November 2006, a default judgment was taken against him in the amount of $57,000. The news here is that Microsoft appears to have collected the full amount of this judgment. On May 28, 2008, it filed a Full Satisfaction of Judgment Against Saul Waizer stating: “Microsoft … hereby acknowledges receipt of full satisfaction of the judgment against Judgment Debtor/Defendant Saul Waize...
More About: Spam , Spammer

TTAB Grants Summary Judgment Against Seattle Spirits Distributor
2008-06-04 05:55:00
John Welch today reports on Seattle -based Fine Spirits Distribution, LLC’s loss on summary judgment in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board opposition proceeding that E. & J. Gallo Winery brought objecting to Fine Spirits’ application to register FALCON for distilled spirits. Gallo successfully argued that mark was likely to cause confusion with Gallo’s FALCON RIDGE trademark for wine. Central to the decision was Fine Spirits’ failure to respond to Gallo’s requests for admission (or to withdraw or amend those admissions).As the TTABlog explains:“These admissions established that the involved goods are ‘related and competitive,’ that the goods are ‘impulse items, sold to customers at retail,’ that such consumers ‘will assume they are related,’ and that Gallo has priority of use. The Board therefore granted the motion for summary judgment.”In my experience, requests for admission usually are&nb...
More About: Grants , Judgment , Summary

Gucci Sues Alleged Local Counterfeiters
2008-06-03 05:13:00
On May 27, Gucci America, Inc., filed suit against Cassandra Black, Cece’s Bargain Boutique, CecesBargainBoutique.com, and ten unknown persons for selling allegedly counterfeit Gucci merchandise. The complaint alleges that Ms. Black is a resident of Kent, Wash. The defendants’ Web site describes Cece’s Bargain Boutique as a seller of “replica” merchandise (partial screen shot below).The John Doe defendants are described as persons who reside or conduct business in this judicial district who are either “directly and personally contributing, inducing and engaging in the sale of counterfeit products” or are “directly engaging in the sale of counterfeit products” as “partners or suppliers to the named Defendants.”The complaint alleges that “Gucci has discovered the Defendants are promoting and otherwise advertising, distributing, selling and/or offering for sale counterfeit products, including at...
More About: Local , Counterfeiting

Jury Finds for Defendants in Domain Name Misappropriation Case
2008-06-01 23:15:00
On May 28, a Western District jury found for the defendant Web development vendor in a case Seattle-based law firm The Christiansen Firm brought against Chameleon Data Corp. and its president, Derek Dohn. The plaintiff had accused defendants of transferring ownership of plaintiff’s four domain names to themselves without authorization in order to get leverage over plaintiff in a dispute over the defendants’ bill. (For more background, see STL posts on May 5, February 20, and February 14.)In a five-day trial, the jury found for defendants on plaintiff’s breach of fiduciary duty claim and on defendants’ counterclaim for breach of contract. However, the jury did not award the defendants any damages on that claim. The court awarded defendants costs but did not address their argument that they should receive attorney’s fees for prevailing in an “exceptional” case under the Lanham Act based on the court’s previo...
More About: Domain , Domain Name , Case

Starbucks May Oppose Seattle's Rat City Rollergirls Trademark Application
2008-05-31 19:02:00
  Confusingly similar? Likely to cause dilution?Sorry for the delay, but this hit the media while I was at INTA…. Starbucks Corp. has been granted an  extension of time to oppose the Rat City Rollergirls, LLC’s application to register its design mark used in connection with “Coordination of recreational sporting opportunities for individuals who wish to participate in team league sports; Promoting sports competitions and/or events of others.” The Rat City Rollergirls are Seattle’s roller derby league.The Seattle Post-Intelligencer quotes a Starbucks spokesperson as saying: “We haven’t opposed it — we have asked for more time to look at it.” She added: “There’s a lot of room for us to work together to find a mutually beneficial conclusion here.”The paper also quotes Rat City’s lawyer as saying: “The Starbucks lawyer said that the girls on the roller derby team look scary,...
More About: Application , Trademark , Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

INTA Recap: Our Own United Nations
2008-05-29 03:42:00
Meet the Bloggers IV: Trademark law bloggers of the world unite!It’s hard to recap a four-day conference involving thousands of trademark lawyers from around the world. Despite my nagging jet lag, I’m still energized. For me, this year’s INTA transcended the usual meeting and greeting. Maybe it’s because I’ve gone to a few of these now and the folks I met for the first time three years ago in San Diego are now becoming good friends. But I started thinking that INTA’s annual meeting could be something of an agent of peace. Take the Meet the Bloggers event (photo above), for example. That night, I met folks kind of like me from England, Italy, Spain, South Africa, the United States, and many points in between. Our own United Nations . The night ended, quite late, over burgers and beer with old and new friends from the States, Holland, and Australia. I thought: this is what it’s all about. Sure, INTA is about m...
More About: Recap

INTA Update Coming...
2008-05-23 12:17:00
DUNKIN’ DONUTS, POTSDAMER PLATZ, BERLIN - As expected, I’ve spent much quality time with my fellow trademark lawyers at the 130th annual International Trademark Association’s annual meeting here in Berlin. Consequently, I haven’t had much time to post. That will change once I return home. I’ve got an INTA recap and some photos from the “Meet the Bloggers IV” gathering I’m looking forward to posting — by the end of the Memorial Day weekend at the latest. Until then, thanks for your patience. For those who came to INTA, safe travels home!
More About: Update

See you at INTA!
2008-05-17 03:48:00
Slight blogging slowdown ahead as I travel to Berlin to join thousands of other trademark lawyers from around the world at the 130th annual meeting of the International Trademark Association. What a conference! Please say hello if you see me there. I will definitely be at the “Meet the Bloggers IV” gathering discussed here. All trademark law bloggers, readers, and friends are welcome. If you want to meet up some other time, you also can reach me on my BlackBerry via the STL “Email me” link at right (or at matkins at grahamdunn.com). I hope to see you there!