This is Hilarious! (Must Read!)
I had a funny thing happen to me this week and I felt compelled to share it with my readers. I got back to the office yesterday evening and there on my desk was a big envelope from Re/Max Corporate Headquarters. Hmmmmm. I opened it up wondering what it could possibly contain. To my amazement, it contained a letter from their legal department!
The letter was what is known in legal circles as a “cease and desist” letter. For the uninitiated, a cease and desist letter is a formal demand that is typically sent to another party warning them to stop doing something, or else! I’ve included a link to the actual letter at the bottom of this post.
Here’s what they said in a nutshell: Our company (Re/Max) has a trademark on using red-over-white-over-blue on a yard sign. Please immediately discontinue the use of red-over-white-over-blue on all your company’s yard signs, worldwide. In fairness, it was very cordial.
My thoughts were, are you kidding me? There are a total of three primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. Two of them contrast well on white. (Any idea what those two might be?) They asserted that consumers would be confused and unable to distinguish our companies’ respective signs. I thought it might be fun to run an experiment.
After giving it some thought I replied to their request and have included a link to my reply at the bottom of this post.
Now I would like your help. If you were confused (i.e., you chose Sign 2 above) please post a comment below and help me understand. If you weren’t confused, please feel free to comment as well.
Click here to view the letter. Click here to view my reply.
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This may be hilarious, and obviously stupid, but make sure you are covered. I’d report the situation to the local Real Estate Commission or NAR, and cover my bets. (or however you want to spell that.)