Local Support For Our Gourmet Burgers is Heartwarming

Mornington Peninsula Blog

This is a community blog - a personal diary or viewpoint on the web - AND we would love to hear your views too! Blogs have become really important as they let millions of people easily publish their ideas, and millions more comment on them, as the Web is often described. By blogging we are using the Internet actively not passively to help create a sustainable local community.

Check out our local community blog for some recent postings about our Gourmet Burger business here in Rosebud and our fight with McDonalds:

http://www.morningtononline.com/blog/comments.php?id=136_0_1_0_C

It seems its going to take more than community support, for Rosebud trader Ian Macca Macdonald to avoid being stomped on by corporate bullies. Maybe a community boycott of a certain fast food may help persuade them from their course.

After all guys its about consumer choice, and I know what I would rather have scotch fillet burger.

MORE...

Mr Macdonald was inundated with support and media interest after the Leaders exclusive front page story last week about his battle with the US-based McDonalds Corporation.

Mr Macdonald, who runs Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers in Pt Nepean Rd, Rosebud, has received court orders over claims he is in breach of the Trade Marks Act.

Personally I think too many small business have been victims of big business moving into the community. How many have noticed the demise of the local hardware store over the last 10 years, as an example that comes to mind.

Anyway check out Maccas menu and make up your own mind.
I dont think we need some corporate bull dog deciding what we can or cant have.

Ian Macdonald

www.TheFlashDuck.com

US Threat To Aussie Hobby Site

Well.... it is good, but sad, to know that we are not on our own here in Australia...getting sued by some large American corporation that has far too much time on it's hands!!

Sandy Sherger of Ararat, all I can say is if you bring over a quiz for me to do, I'll shout you to a Macca's special.

Good luck Sandy and great work!!

Here is her story:

Holly Ife, consumer reporter

February 02, 2007 12:00am

A PENSIONER running an online movie club as a hobby is the latest to be threatened with legal action by a US law firm.

Sandy Scherger, of Ararat, has been told her website, www.namethatmovie.net breaches intellectual property laws and must close.

This week she received a letter from a New York lawyer who claimed to be acting on behalf of the owner of US and Australia-registered trademarks Name That Tune and namethattune.com.

It stated the client had also registered Name That Video in the US.

"My client has developed a family of Name That . . . marks," the letter said. "Please take notice that your uses of the mark Name That Movie and the domain name . . . constitute infringements on my client's intellectual property rights."

The lawyer claimed Ms Scherger's use of the words Name That Movie would cause his client irreparable damage and demanded she stop using it immediately.

Ms Scherger, a pensioner and stay-at-home mum, said she got no money from her site, which she started eight years ago and ran as a hobby.

"I get nothing from it except the pleasure of running it," she said.

The 1500-1600 subscribers to Ms Scherger's website receive a free Name That Movie quiz twice a week. Correct answers earn them points rather than prizes.

Ms Scherger said she could not afford to change the domain name, which she'd owned since January 1999. "I didn't steal it from anybody."

This week the Herald Sun reported that Ian Macdonald, owner of a Rosebud restaurant called Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers, was being threatened with legal action by McDonald's.

END OF ARTICLE

Ian Macdonald

www.TheFlashDuck.com