(antiMusic) It all started when a few indie artists felt that the CMJ fest was a bit too corporate in their eyes. So they decided to set up their own "counter" music fest, organized entirely by the artists without corporate sponsorships, pay to play etc. They dubbed the outing the unCMJfest. Then something went terribly wrong, CMJ's lawyers caught wind of what was happening and took a bit of an exception to them using the CMJ name and logo as part of their event. So they sent them a love letter. As a result the music fest has now changed their name and had their original Myspace page deleted. The unCMJfest is now the un C. em J. Music Fest. But their mission statement remains the same: Who needs "style guilds" of "music journalists" taking money from the musicians to rent space and then sell advertising for a profit???!
The unCMJ Music Fest is about music, not marketing opportunities. A large portion of the event aims to be ALL AGES (unlike CMJ). It is scheduled to take place on October 19th and 20th in Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Greenpoint, Brooklyn. We need your help.
If you are a band, an NYC venue, or NYC booker, and would like to participate in this event that aims to put music back in the hands of musicians and music fans, not middle man for profit corrupt bureaucracies like CMJ, please let us know and we'll get to work!!!
Here is the love letter they received from CMJ's lawyers: We are intellectual property counsel to CMJ Network, Inc. Our client is the owner of the U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,227,646 for the mark CMJ with respect to entertainment services.
It has come to our attention that you are promoting a musical festival under the URL http://www.myspace.com/fckcmjmusicfest and the service mark unCMJ07. Further, your use of our clients name and mark is aggravated by the fact that you are copying the distinctive style of our clients trademark.
Your aforedescribed actions present a clear case of unfair competition and trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1114 and 15 U.S.C. § 1125. They represent a transparent attempt to exploit the value of the CMJ mark to attract attention to your own event.
Therefore on behalf of CMJ Network, we insist that you immediately cease and desist from any further use of the CMJ name and trademark in the advertising or promotion of your music festival.
As this matter is extremely important to our client, we look forward to your prompt and cooperative response. This letter is without waiver of any claims, rights or remedies of CMJ Network, all of which are expressly reserved.
