Assuming you ride somewhere outside the borders of Antarctica, you have likely already heard about the injustice being imposed on our friend and fellow Velominatus, Dan Richter who goes around these parts as @Dan_R.
I’ve been riding Dan’s wheels for a bit over a year, and they are the best I’ve ever had. After hearing about the suit a few months back, I was proud to help him brainstorm some ways he might be able to salvage his brand or come up with a new one while admitting the court battle was out of reach.
But when the article broke in the Calgary Herald this weekend, all hell broke loose. It goes without saying the pride I feel whenever our community here at Velominati comes together for a good cause, but what went on over the last 48 hours was an unbelievable coming-together of not just us, but the Cycling community as a whole. Regardless of the final result, this past weekend made me proud to call myself a Cyclist more than ever, for we proved we not only love riding our bikes, but that we as a worldwide community have each other’s collective backs.
I had an article planned for today, one taking the piss out of ourselves and everyone else as we usually do. But it just didn’t feel right. Instead, I thought we’d post the Packfiller podcast from Bulger Media. This is my fourth time on the show, but this time Patrick (@packfiller) was able to get Dan on the call with us. It was fantastic to hear Dan still has his sense of humor and it was a pleasure share a good laugh with him.
Here’s hoping Specialized comes to their senses, observes Rule #43, and drops the suit. If not, we’ll stand in solidarity, never buying another Specialized product again. The good news is that either way, Dan will rebuild his brand and his shop will live on, stronger than ever. (Insert Shakespeare quote about names here.)
Its a long listen, but we cover the important Café Roubaix stuff early on. Enjoy. And Vive La Vie Velominatus.
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RESULT! @Dan_R just posted on cafe Roubaix fb page that he's spoken worth Sinyard and all is getting sorted.
Congrats Dan, you so deserve success.
@RoubaixInTwoYears beat me too it, but basically Hell Yea!!
@Mike_P
And one more Hell Yea!!
I know where my next set of wheels is coming from.
Waiting on the rerun of the Red Retro Short Sleeve Jersey to wear on retro events next year. No rush as plenty of time to next spring.
I will wait to see the end of this, sure ASI has come forward, but the lady-too-fat-to-climb hasn't sung yet.
Seems a lot of confusion about how Roubaix can be trademarked. As has been noted multiple times, it is trademarked in a particular context, so Spewcialized trademark is specific to bike hardware. Someone could trademark it in the context of food, homeware, anything else, and it wouldn't be litigable by Spewcialized.
Blame a litigious society, and lets face it, the US is supreme at that. Everyone is out to patent, trademark and protect their shit to make more money.
I almost died when I nommed down a Recces Peanut Butter cup, then read the wrapper. They have trademarked the colour Orange (obviously in the context of confectionary). No shit, look it up! Fucking Lawyers!
Basically, the privatisation of something that essentially belongs to everybody, a place name, a colour, our DNA?
Modern society is fucked. But then occasionally someone reaches out like ASI and for a little while, you really believe some people in this big bad world really are nice...
Least I had a good ride to make me feel less cynical..
@RoubaixInTwoYears
That is a phone call I would love to have heard. I'm sure Dan handled it with class.
@wiscot
Me too. And I'm still wondering what Sinyard is going to say to the cycling community, globally. Really, he has to say something, FFS.
Ha, the internetz moved too fast for my post, and the too fat to climb lady has sung. Result!
@Beers
I'm not confused about how it happened. We elected people who wrote the laws, and then the courts agreed to ASI and Specialized's claims. I understand that. I understand that there is a legal distinction between the usage of "Roubaix" in the context of building bicycles and "Roubaix" in terms of a race, and "Roubaix" in terms of a town in France.
I just happen to disagree strongly with the original law that enables the ruling. Build your own damn heritage, or admit that you're trading on goodwill and context built up by someone else's work.
Dan_R, congratulations on your legal ruling.
@Beers
Good to hear, though I'll wait for an official statement from Specialized before I get too excited (which no doubt will be filled with some bullshit crafted to somehow save face rather than a flat out apology).