Date: Wed 27 Dec 2000
From: Burman, David J.-SEA
Subject: Costco
As you might recall, I am one of the attorneys for Costco. As
you say on your website, you "have yet to respond to [my] nice
letter." Or to my phone calls. I know that you made some changes
to your Costco Soulmate pages, but you have not taken them down,
as you promised John Morgan over a year ago.
Costco has a sense of humor, has nothing against you or Burning
Man, and does not want to sue anyone. But they also do not want
to lose any rights, especially to more commercial ventures, by
standing by now. Without suggesting that these steps would be
sufficient if done by someone with a commercial motive, would
you consider the following, assuming you aren't ready to take
the pages down completely and intend to participate in Burning
Man again next year?
1. Add to your disclaimer that your efforts are noncommercial,
that they are intended as humor, and that you believe they are
protected by the First Amendment.
2. Change the name on the web pages and at Burning Man to a
derivative that will still evoke the connection to Costco while
not directly using that name ("Kostko"?).
3. Remove "Costco" from your metatags.
Please call if you have any questions. We will continue to monitor.
Any commercial use of the Costco name, marks, or copyrighted
materials will result in action without any further warnings.
Dave Burman
Perkins Coie
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