letter to telstra v0.0

Dear Nicholas,

Our good friends Telstra are possibly giving me a hard time :-) . You should know I will be away till the 16th of February and we can hopefully discuss further then. The situation:

"

Our client requires both you and Mr Paul to sign the undertakings in your capacity as individuals and in your capacity as director of MyTribes Pty Ltd (MyTribes). The trib.es trade mark application was filed in your personal name. Moreover, the undertakings cover future use. Our client would find it unacceptable if you engaged in any of the conduct contemplated by the undertakings in your capacity as individuals or as directors of another company.

Our client is reluctant to agree to your continuing use and registration of the trib.es domain name. However, so that our client can make a proper decision concerning your request, please provide further information about the "internet real-estate" business activities that you propose to use the domain name in relation to.

"

First of all, Paul you may sign whatever document you please. That is your right to do so and is your choice to make.


Now, I agree with all points that Telstra require of me, in the sense that I will abide as to not waste my time, except for point 3 in the undertakings. Not on the word "trib.es" which we registered as a domain in Spain, but on all my words which I feel I am free to use and "register" if need be on the interweb :-) .

If Telstra words this more clearly, so I do not feel they are encroaching on my rights as a human to use selflessly my free speech I will sign the document. I am not a lawman and hence, Nick, need your advice. If you say they are not infringing I will believe you.

My situation is this, I have not much to give; a little money, some clothes, a free smile if you like ... all those I can give you, but I will not have my right to use my voice and let it be heard by whoever chooses to listen taken away from me, as ugly is it may-be :). Those that I speak to can choose to listen or not to listen, however, nor Telstra or anything else will dictate who I or anything else can speak to nor who listens.


Nick, please let me know of a quote if proceedings look like they will cost a lot as that would mean I can not afford your service and will represent myself.

All I ask of you Nick is to tell me, personally or publicly (as you may have noticed Telstra's lawpeeps are on this email) whether or not this is taking away free speech. After that please get back to me on whether or not you would like to represent myself and possibly Paul if he so chooses.

Telstra, I may be in the wrong, I accept that, all I ask is for a re-wording of that last undertaking because the way it reads to me is that it is infringing on the only right I believe I have in this world, free will.

Also you may want to define the word "similar" in:

"3. Never use or apply to register  Trib.es or TRIBES or any word deceptively similar thereto
as a trade mark in Australia or as a domain name in the future. "

And maybe you could explain to me who deems what is and is not similar ? Again I am no law expert but I am sure this will make your case stronger.

As an example of me using my free speech know that because I chose to write this email it is available @pastebin and I will be making it, and responses to myself unless explicitly asked otherwise by whomever responds, available via twitter-@Michalszymansk1 and facebook. I will remove your emails as you did not know I was writing this, but you have now been informed.


Regards,
Mike


P.S below are some excerpts of pastebin, facebook and twitter posts of communications sent to me regarding this topic.


Hi Friends,

In Australia our good old monopoly Telstra is up in arms over the domain we own called trib.es. They asked us to hand it over without any re-numeration. I do not believe this is fair because I feel it infringes our right to speak freely, if I can not "own" a domain and do what I like with it on the internet, then what next ... do I have to reference every person who "owns" the words I am writing after I write them and speak them ? The domain they can have, Paul and I do not care, but its our names on the "undertakings which I feel are not right Below is the undertakings and some of what I think I can paste of the email chain between us and them, if anyone would like to take this case on the domain trib.es will be donated to whoever they choose. If no-one responds in 48 hours I will have to pass it onto our lawyers who are not experts but we can afford. Let me know what you think ?

---------

UNDERTAKINGS
We, Michal Syzmanski and Paul #, hereby undertake for and on our own behalf and for
and on behalf of the company MyTribes Pty Ltd, its employees, agents, successors and
associates, to Telstra Corporation Limited to:
1. Cease and forever desist from using  Trib.es as a trade mark in Australia;
2. Cancel the <trib.es> domain name within 7 days of signing these undertakings; and
3. Never use or apply to register  Trib.es or TRIBES or any word deceptively similar thereto
as a trade mark in Australia or as a domain name in the future.

Signature — Michal Syzmanski  Date
Signature — Paul #  Date
Signature — Director of  Name
MyTribes Pty Ltd
Date


-----emails

Dear Mr Szymanski

Thank you for your email of 6 November 2011.

We how have instructions form our client concerning its content.

Our client requires both you and Mr Paul # to sign the undertakings in your capacity as individuals and in your capacity as director of MyTribes Pty Ltd (MyTribes). The trib.es trade mark application was filed in your personal name. Moreover, the undertakings cover future use. Our client would find it unacceptable if you engaged in any of the conduct contemplated by the undertakings in your capacity as individuals or as directors of another company.

Our client is reluctant to agree to your continuing use and registration of the trib.es domain name. However, so that our client can make a proper decision concerning your request, please provide further information about the "internet real-estate" business activities that you propose to use the domain name in relation to.

We await your reply.

Yours sincerely
Cheryl # |  Solicitor                                                    Sally #



From: Michal Szymanski [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, 6 November 2011 9:38 AM
To: Sally #
Cc: Paul #; Isobelle #
Subject: Re: Telstra Corporation Limited - Use of TRIBE - and - Michal Szymanski - Australian Trade Mark No. 1417935 Trib.es in class 9 (DCC Ref: 35010406/SEF/IZF/cmc)

Hi Sally,

After further discussion with our legal advisers we have also noticed the following issues which we would like to have changed:

* The personal names of Michal Szymanski and Paul # on the undertakings.

- Sally, we are directors of the company mytribes pty ltd. This company owns the domain in question and this company paid for the application of the trademark which we have withdrawn. The whole purpose of setting up the company was so that we personally would not be involved in any undertakings. Please remove our personal signatories.

* Undertaking 2

- We will agree not to use the domain trib.es for any business in Australia only. However we still want to be able to use our internet real-estate for business activites in Spain and outside of Australia. The actual name of the site is afterall "trib" , with ".es" as the identifier of the country it is registered in.

Regards,
Michal Szymanski

---1 email ommited ... then

Thanks Cheryl,

I will leave it the lawyers to play this out from here on in.

Cheers

Mike