Barney Letter
Gibney Anthony & Flaherty

Barney® Cease and Decist Letter

Note:The parody at issue is no longer available at the cited
address, but it is presently accessible at: http://www.etext.org/CuD/PPIC/ppic0006

Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2001 11:36:36 -0400
From: Gibney Anthony & Flaherty
To: dns@eff.org
Subject: Re: Unauthorized Use of Intellectual Property

             June 6, 2001

BY E-MAIL: dns@eff.org
AND FIRST CLASS MAIL
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Attn: Shari Steele
454 Shotwell St.
San Francisco, CA 94110

     Re: Unauthorized Use of Intellectual Property

Dear Ms. Steele:

     This firm is counsel to Lyons Partnership, L.P. (Lyons
Partnership), the owners of the exclusive right to use the copyrighted
children's dinosaur character Barney® as well as the federally
registered and famous trademark and service mark Barney.

     It has come to the attention of Lyons Partnership that you are
operating a website found at URL:
www.eff.org/pub/Misc/Publications/CuD/PPIC/ppic0006. We have reviewed
your website and have concluded that it incorporates the use and threat
of violence towards the children's character Barney without permission
from Lyons Partnership.

     As a result of Lyons Partnership's continuous promotion of the
Barney character, Barney has come to be recognized as a distinctive and
famous trademark and service mark. Lyons Partnership vigorously objects
to the unsavory and unwholesome content that you have associated with
its trademark and service mark Barney.  The content that you have placed
on your website, used in conjunction with the federally registered and
famous trademark and service mark Barney, including all relevant
hyperlinks to third-party websites, constitutes a violation of the
Federal Trademark Dilution Act pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1125(c)(1). By
associating the Barney trademark with violence, your website tarnishes
the distinctive qualities of the trademark and service mark Barney.
Remedies available to Lyons Partnership based upon a violation of the
Federal Trademark Dilution Act include a permanent injunction, damages,
costs and attorneys' fees.

     Your actions also constitute direct copyright infringement, and make
you subject to injunction and liable to Lyons Partnership for its
damages, costs and attorneys' fees. Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 501(a),
"anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner
as provided by sections 106 through 118, or of the author as provided in
106(a), is an infringer of the copyright or right of the author." Lyons
Partnership hereby demands that you immediately cease and desist from
diluting its trademark Barney, as well as reproducing, distributing,
performing by means of digital audio transmission, displaying, or in any
other way infringing upon Lyons Partnership's copyrights.

     Lyons Partnership is prepared to pursue all available remedies to
protect its intellectual property rights. However, Lyons Partnership
will refrain from taking immediate legal action upon condition that you
provide written assurances by June 27, 2001, that you have ceased and
desisted from diluting the trademark and service mark Barney, as well as
reproducing, distributing, performing by means of digital audio
transmission, or displaying the copyrighted character Barney.  Your
written assurances must also state that you have removed all web page
content relating to the unlawful use of the Barney trademarks or
copyrights as well as any links to the official Barney website.

     We await an immediate response from you or your counsel.

             Sincerely,

             GIBNEY, ANTHONY & FLAHERTY, LLP

             By: ________________________________
                      Matthew W. Carlin

cc: Angelo Mazza, Esq.