Looks like it's been going on for a little while

dallas.craigslist.org link

Bummer that this conflict has come up.

Can you post a synopsis, my work blocks CL and FB...

Here is a cut/paste of the CL ad:

The operators of the Texas Pinball Festival, a trade show, are claiming that they are the "real" Texas Pinball. Well we at Texas Pinball Machines have something to say about that! You decide who is the real Texas Pinball!

First, we are a pinball sales and restoration company, not a trade show organizer. Trademarks are issued by business category, that's why you have Delta Airlines, Delta Dental, Delta Engineering, etc - they are all legitimate trademarks because they operate in different industries. The tradeshow industry has no relation to the arcade sales and restoration industry, even if they both involve pinball machines!

Consider if the organizers of the Dallas Auto Show claimed they were the real "Dallas Auto Sales"?!? Well that's ridiculous, but that's exactly what they're claiming! Go to their website, there are no pinball machines sold by them, or repair services offered. Only a trade show they put on once per year.

We don't put on tradeshows, and they won't fix your pinball machine. See how that works?

Now let's get into the nitty gritty. They claim to have a US trademark (which still wouldn't keep someone in another industry from using the same name, remember the Delta example), but a check of the online United States Trademark office shows NO SUCH TRADEMARK EXISTS - check for yourself. Go to the official website uspto.gov then click "Search trademarks", then "search trademarks" again, then finally "Basic Word Mark Search". Type in Texas Pinball, and nothing will come up! It doesn't exist. Are they lying about having a federal trademark? Very odd. You decide.

On the flip side, we, Texas Pinball Machines, HAVE applied for a trademark with the Texas Secretary of State. We consulted a trademark attorney, and a search was paid for by us before filing to ensure there were no other Texas trademarks under that name. I would provide a link, but the Texas Secretary of State does not have an online trademark search. You must pay them for a search, but trust us, we are the ONLY Texas Pinball with a trademark pending in the state of Texas!

So who is the "Real" Texas Pinball? If you want to attend a trade show, they are. If you want to buy a pinball machine, or have one repaired or restored, then WE ARE!

Peace through pinball! Remember, it only takes one good ball!

This is why you need to be creative.

It seems the conflict is with using the words Texas Pinball in a company name.

A Texas Pinball service company is saying they trademarked Texas Pinball in Texas.
The Texas Pinball Festival is saying they trademarked Texas Pinball using the US Trademark office.

I did a simple US Trademark search and did not find Texas Pinball listed.
I do not see a Trademark "R" or "TM" on the Festival's logo or name on their website (did I overlook it somewhere on their pages?).

So maybe it is a design or logo that includes the words but not the words and they forgot the basic level of protection with the trademark insignia?

I'm guessing that the Festival is disputing the other Company's use of the words Texas Pinball.

I don't see it as a negative towards either entity.

Alan

I suppose everything is bigger in Texas. . . even Pinball Drama?

No drama. Someone is trying to profit off our name “Texas Pinball”. He’s advertising here on PinSide as well. I sent a nice message requesting he use another name which went ignored.

“Texas Pinball” is owned by Pin Events LLC and is the flagship brand for The Texas Pinball Festival, The Texas Pinball Museum, Texas Pinball Livestream, and other things in the works. We use Texas Pinball for everything:

Our website:
http://www.TexasPinball.com

On FaceBook:
https://www.facebook.com/TexasPinball

On eBay:
ebay.com link: usr

Live Streaming:
http://www.twitch.com/Texas_Pinball

I’ve already received a couple emails from people thinking we were the same. Trying to decide if it’s worth the legal battle. Probably not. It’s a bummer since he’s tarnishing the good name we and the pinball community have worked so hard to build. Oh well.

Don't pick a purely descriptive name if you want to avoid confusion in the market.

New link someone flagged the other (TPF)

dallas.craigslist.org link

Public Notice: The name "Texas Pinball" is a trademark of Pin Events, LLC and is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Texas Pinball is the flagship brand for The Texas Pinball Festival, Texas Pinball Museum, and Texas Pinball Livestream. Any unauthorized use of the name "Texas Pinball" is prohibited.

Anyone else using "Texas Pinball" as their company name is doing so illegally and tarnishing the good name we and the pinball community have worked so hard to build.

Visit our website:
http://www.TexasPinball.com

Find us on FaceBook:
https://www.facebook.com/TexasPinball

On eBay:
ebay.com link: usr

Live Streaming:
http://www.twitch.com/Texas_Pinball

You mean like “American Pinball” or “Dutch Pinball”?

Everything is smaller in texas.

Pretty weak drama.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_distinctiveness:

"Another example of a descriptive mark would be a geographical word or phrase that merely indicates the origin of the product or service. For example, Houston based ice cream might find that the name "Houston ice cream" is denied trademark protection on the grounds that the word Houston is merely descriptive. However, they might have better luck with the name "North Pole ice cream". In the latter case, although North Pole is a geographical location, the ice cream is not actually made at the North Pole, and no reasonable person would assume that the phrase North Pole is literally descriptive.[6]"

Why promote the non existent 'drama' by posting that... The folks at TPF do a TON for the hobby like they need to monitor this tread now too ? It's not drama - as Ed said I'm sure it's someone making a fuss or looking to turn someone's pockets inside out. If these folks starting this had any brains they would partner with the show and be the biggest freaking vendor at the biggest show and being in their home state... Shows what their real motive is. Just drain this thread and don't add to the hassle for Ed / TPF to deal with while they do legitimate business that supports us all. Argh....

"American Pinball" is currently refused as "PRIMARILY GEOGRAPHICALLY DESCRIPTIVE".

http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn87795271&docId=OOA20180606194522#docIndex=0&page=1

It ain't pinball if there isn't drama

seems quite petty and ridiculous to claim "copyright" on something that generic. people have nothing better to do.

They have fixed more machines at TPF for people than many location Pinball stores. Heck, I think some people bring their broken games to TPF for the sole purpose of getting them repaired.

Who's been around longer? Which came first the chicken or the egg?

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

TPF has grown steadily since... when was it? 2000? 2003? Never heard of the other guys before and spent the last few years combing tens of thousands of Craigslist/forum/Facebook/eBay/media ads.

If it's not a cash-in on TPF's reputation, it does kinda seem that way from my POV.

derivative (resized).jpg

Even the logo itself is derivative of recent design trends, including TPF.

Is this the guy?

https://www.facebook.com/mark.shackelford.39?hc_location=ufi

https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/mark-shackelford-tx-air-parts/dallas-texas-75230/mark-shackelford-tx-air-parts-complete-fraud-returned-item-from-ebay-auction-no-refund-317957

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/nics-american-pinball-tour-aka-im-coming-to-fix-your-games/page/22

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhcnews.com%2Fpages%2Fupdates%2Fsheriff-shackelford-to-be-arrested%2F&h=AT1KOwuQ96Npy0nqMgM4S0U9Iy6sljvjA56jvZb7232M6CtxFmQr5j0rh4IjBCzRAngatAAFXbTud4NsuKoEK-9xbk7MzNCouBT2acmxNnyRq_Pna9p7w5CV4zuaOBkcew

https://hcnews.com/pages/updates/after-anti-gay-slurs-city-may-cut-school-board-candidate-from-airport-board/

https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/eleventh-court-of-appeals/2004/7669.html

Quality resume, and true words of wisdom we can all live by:

—-
Some of the posts that some view as offensive go back several years, such as this one from Oct. 1, 2012:

“A man can spank an eight year old girl and its all good, but as soon as she’s old enough to have her first period she’s off limits??? Very strange.”

That person also took offense over Shackelford’s posting that “every time a girl cries ‘rape!’ does not mean that a rape actually occurred. You may hate it, but its (sic) true.”

But there is this posting on his Facebook page:

“If I chose not to fly a flight full of fags, my chief pilot would find someone who would. But I would fly them. I just might make the flight a little rough, and me and my FO (first officer) would laugh our asses off while we did it!”

There are other anti-gay postings by Shackelford as well.

In a posting on July 18, 2012 in response to an article in the Dallas Morning News about a challenge to the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gays, Shackelford wrote:

“DMN must have a bunch of gays on staff with a grudge against BSA.”

In a posting on Jan. 29, 2013 in response to another story in the DMN about the Boy Scouts controversy, Shackelford wrote:

“We have a right to private organizations that are not infiltrated by homos.”

Rich white guys doing rich white guy stuff.

oh nooooo! PinPilot what are you up to? Is this for real or just a prank?

Wow, I would never expect a wife beater, fluent in hate speech, who doesn't pay his bills, to make an issue out of something that really isn't an issue. Some local business has a similar phone number as mine, and I get occasional accidental calls for them. I don't see the need to pursue a legal battle or some immature craigslist postings to prove my manhood.

This guy is a vile scourge on humanity. Read that history. Wife beating? Child abuse? Rip off artist? Piggybacking on and picking fights with TPF crew, who are all collectively the most above board, good natured and honest dudes in this community? Unapologetic homophobe bastard?

HARD pass on his business. He’s in my backyard, too? Time to black ball someone.

Yikes

Character aside, why doesn't Texas Pinball show up in the search of the US Trademark and Copyright database?
It should if it is actually trademarked.

That is the crux of the dispute.

Maybe someone has a better search method available?

Even if unregistered, a trademark enjoys common law protections. First in time is first in right. This isn't even close. They are directly ripping off the existing art and name of the original user, who is clearly established and known in the community. There isn't even a subtle attempt to distinguish themselves from the original user.

This isn't what I expected to see in here It's so much better

sue this Dirt ball, there is no question of infringement upon the name.

Not sure what you mean by this? Who are you referring to? The staff at the show is great, but they certainly don't fix broken pinball machines that are on the floor. (And they shouldn't)

They repaired 19 machines that went down during the show in 2018

Looks like WWW.Texaspinballmachines.com has Pinballz in Austin storing their Creature, and Fun in Mesquite storing their Comet. How do you get other people to offer up store front like that?

comet (resized).jpg

creature (resized).jpg

Who is "They"? Honest question. And how do you know it was 19 games? Was this published somewhere?

Games get repaired at TPF but it's usually by owners or The Pin Smith. I've been to the last 8 years or so of TPF. Never seen "the staff" repairing games. I'm not even sure how they would go about doing this without the keys to the games. Anyways...back to the "drama".

Last year the show started the Texas Pinball Hospital with Volunteers. Where people could request repair help. The show logged 19 games repaired, I have the list. The list of games repaired was not published as there is no need to publish it. The owner would contact the hospital, and hand over keys, if the machine needed to be removed from the floor it was, otherwise repairs were made on the spot.

I fixed a few EM’s on the floor over the years. Never documented it. Just did it for the show.

Yeah, this is mostly what I see. Volunteers, not staff. I've repaired a few myself.

Sounds cool. This is the first I have heard of that.

How has no one taken the name “Lone Star Rollover”

It's a bad porn movie.

I've been to tpf every year since 2001... I think that makes me an expert...

Until this thread I had never heard of this guy...
The fact that he's stealing pictures in his Craigslist ads from fun and from pinballz ... Rather than taking his own pictures ... Well I think that says enough...

This guy using, in his Craigslist post, Delta Airlines as example has no idea...

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in court, Forced Vince McMahon to change the name of the World Wrestling Federation to World Wrestling Entertainment because the inititals WWF were the same....

Regardless, I do believe this scumbag is soiling the good name of Texas pinball....

I don't get on pinside much because of time, but this one was important to me....

LOU

Can we please get back to the daily posts with the number of days until the next Texas Pinball Festival?