We Support Gidol and Ben!!!

I personally think this is an idiotic attempt by Fremantle Media to shut down Gidol on the basis of our name! If we surrender to thier wishes, that will open a whole new batch of claims against us on the basis of copywrite infringment. What we do here at Google Idol SHOULD NOT infringe on any copywrites held on any song anyone performs, as we gain no money from these videos.

If there are any artists on major labels who object to this site, they obviously haven't seen much of the content, therefore don't realize that this is a site based upon fun, not a money making venture. I sincerly hope that Fremantle Media will withdraw thier claims, since American Idol and Google Idol are completely different (aside from the fact that they both have the word Idol in thier names).

If there is a way to contact Fremantle, so that we Gidol's ourselves can contact them to ask them to cease thier claim against Google Idol, please post it so we can take some action in the defence of our beloved site and it's administrator.

The crew at Sometimes Thursday
 

Wow, so Gidol is now big enough to pose a threat to big media corporations. Well, nobody I know who knows about Gidol has assumed it had anything to do with American Idol beyond the name. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt it's common knowledge that Freemantle owns the idol franchises. And lastly, the fine print at the top of the homepage explicitly states that Gidol is not affiliated with American Idol! So yes, I also think they're just looking for some trivial reason to shut this site down.

I'm afraid that's all I can say since I'm no legal expert. Hope this whole thing has a happy ending, and best regards to Ben, whatever happens.
 

Post the whole letter as an image like you received it on the front page. I bet people will call and e-mail the attorney pretty fast.
 

So what? Anything with the word "Idol" is not deemed to be mistaken for Fremantle Media's business? No relation, we're doing something different. Move along Fremantle Media. You're attacking something that YOU WISH YOU CREATED!

You know I'm all about Gidol 100% Ben. It's a creative outlet that has a purpose for everyone that takes joy in entertaining. It's all fun and games until a major corporation tries to intervene on something they beleive people will mistaken their services for. You know for a company trying close the doors of Gidol, I'm not scared at all. Too much work has gone into evolving this site and there is so much promise for the future. User created entertainment is the future. Corporations hate it, because they know they have no control over it. Artist like Jamie, Sundealers, mediengruppe Telekommander and Motorettes know exactly what Gidol is all about:

1) Gidol is a good source of untapped talent
2) Gidol will reach people that are not exposed to a certain type of music

Let them try to shut us down. I hope this gets enough publicity, because I'm sure this will most definitely bring attention to people who never knew Gidol existed.

Stay strong, Ben.
 

Unless you have been served with official court papers with orders that shows what trademark/copyright laws have been violated, I would not do a thing. Possible that someone is acting as they are from the so-called "IDOL" group, or if it is in fact them, they could easily try and scare you into thinking they have a legal right while actually having none. I have seen in the past, many scare tactics thrown at people only to find out later they had no legal rights. You are not using IDOL in no way shape or form similar to AMERICAN IDOL. The word IDOL in itself is used by many. The singer Billy Idol must change his name now? I dont think so. If it comes down to it, if the court papers come, then a simple name change would be all that would be needed, but lets not even go there yet. I would want to make them call their hand......Gulf Breeze
 

we are protected under the law from violation of copyrights because we do not profit from it and we do it as a parody.
 

THIS IS SERIOUSLY NOT FAIR! THEY CAN't REALLY DO THAT, BECAUSE THEY WOULD BREAK MILLIONS OF HEARTS!!!
 

Oh my god....This has happened before....in wikipedia!

I had to give out a lot of reasons to make sure our site on wikipedia wouldn't be shut down....(and yes I was successful)

How is American Idol affiliated with Google Idol? And why doesn't this thing happen to Malaysian Idol as well? That's not fair....Discrimination against sites for fun is immoral as well as illegal. And people should stop making those kinds of assumptions. It's like saying Baby Ruth the candy bar was named after Babe Ruth, the Great Bambino, the Sultan of Swat, the King of Crash, etc....the candy bar was not named after Babe Ruth. It was named after Ruth Cleveland, the first baby ever born in the White House. Or saying that Caesar salad dressing was named after Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. It wasn't. It was named after a chef named Caesar who founded the dressing.

Also, it isn't fair for a random person to attack gidol without knowing what gidol is....

And besides, google idol is in a sense like myspace and facebook and digg.com. All three sites were founded by one person in particular (myspace by Tom Anderson, facebook by Mark Zuckerburg, and digg.com by Kevin Rose). Google Idol is similar in that one person founded this (Ben Petro). What has happened to myspace, facebook, and digg.com? They became very popular websites and one of the most popular in the world today. As for google idol, it's just in its infant stages. The reason you probably never heard of google idol is because many ppl have limited access to the media or simply they don't read. I myself had not really heard of digg.com until I read Business Week one time and heard about how Kevin Rose made $60 million in 18 months. Give it some time....Rome wasn't built in a day, so why should google idol be as popular as the World Cup in its rookie year? Not every rookie has to be an Alexander Ovechkin type of rookie (or in laymans terms a very popular rookie). Some websites are brand new and that's just fine. We all have to be new at something sooner or later.

- Derek
 

They can't claim the word Idol. I think they want to push Ben to pay money. Gidol is growing and now they are trying to smash some bucks out of here. This way of ill-mannered behaving is a shame for the whole business of Fremantle. This site is for making fun, not money. The Idol-format doesn't have any comparisation with Googleidol. We don't make any money here, why should you, people of Gremantle Media make money nout of a site which is made to have fun.
 

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1) -

–noun 1. an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed.
2. Bible. a. an image of a deity other than God.
b. the deity itself.

3. any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion: Madame Curie had been her childhood idol.
4. a mere image or semblance of something, visible but without substance, as a phantom.
5. a figment of the mind; fantasy.
6. a false conception or notion; fallacy.

[Origin: 1200–50; ME < LL īdōlum < Gk eídōlon image, idol, deriv. of eîdos shape, form]

—Synonyms 1. See image. 3. favorite, darling, pet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.


Checking the dictionary it doesn't say - American Idol or Australian Idol or trademark of ... etc. 2.4.5.6. All pertain directly to what this site is about. I think they have a hide to presume that this site would in any way be confused with the "Idol" Franchise. No "Idol" trademarks are used or even bastardised. As the Idol phenonemon has also become a part of pop culture I would argue that they have no right to shut this site down, unless they intend to jump in to every Pub in the country and also shut down their Karaoke competitions of various deriviations and namesakes. If you had quoted American Idol, or used any of their images I would say there was cause for concern. But you've done a great job. There is no confusion. Personally I say Lawyer up. Oh and publish their letter on the site. This could turn out to be great publicity for you and very bad publicity for them. Hmmmm I feel a Sixty Minutes story coming on. Good luck.
 

I never thaught that they would be as stupid as this... Please, don't let they destroy what you work this hard for! They're only jalous because of your success and their unsuccess, or maybe they see you as a danger for their show? Whatever it is, we don't have to let the site go down.
 

Employing the philosophy that offence is the best defence, I'm proposing two initiatives to counter FremantleMedia's hostile attack on Google Idol. With co-operation, I believe that the Google Idol community's massive numbers can overwhelm FremantleMedia and force them to reconsider their position. Let's act fast - We only have 5 days!

Fremantle Petition:
http://petitiononline.com/gidol/petition.html

Contact Fremantle:
http://www.fremantlemedia.com/contact
 

I will agree Ben. Don't do anything until the courts issue anything thing. Seriously, though they have no valid claim. It's just a bunch of what they believe gidol is all about. Reading that letter they sent you, they have not full explored the website. I'm willing to be it is a Copy and paste job for when they sent that the lipsyncidol.com... What's ignoratn bastards.
 

Ben, I also have a proposition;

Why don't you send the story into news sites like BBC and CNN. I'm sure they'll want to delve deeper into the issue. This is one of the first times a major TV show is saying it is being affected by an online site with absolutely no relation to it except for the title.

You don't have to do anything. It's just a threat. They have NO legal power to convict you. Come October 24, this site will be online. There is NO reason it shouldn't be. My father is the News Director for a major broadcasting company in our Capitol city, and he says it is ridiculous for Fremantle to even contact you.

So they issued a claim against you. Bah! I wonder how many times that has happened.

One more note that you can use in your conversations with Fremantle (if they ever occur); GOOGLEIDOL DOES NOT KEEP ME FROM WATCHING AMERICAN IDOL!!! It is a COMPLETELY different source of media and is NOTHING like the show! Fremantle, the only reason I would not watch your shows anymore is if something like your claim against Gidol occurs. If you back them off, your viewer loyalty will be restored. If not, I will never, EVER watch your shows again.

Thank you and good luck, Ben!
 

you could always rename to "Google Idolz" heh

jopojelly
 

I must say that this is not the way I would have liked to end my day. This is terrible news, and I for one think that they have no real authority or reason to shut down Gidol. This site has never, nor will it ever claim to be affiliated with the Idols programs. Ben, you've got my full support throughout this. Viva le Gidol!
 

What many say here is correct. Any suit brought against you would be utterly without merit. The word "idol" cannot be copyrighted. In point of fact, it is used 231 times in the best-selling book in the world, the Holy Bible. Surely this creates far greater confusion in the minds of a billion Christians and Jews who see this word in their holy book every day. Duh.. when Moses talks about idols he must be talking about American Idol, right? The very idea is laughable. If they are stupid enough to sue you, let em. Sue them right back. There are even statutes against this sort of misuse of the law for the purpose of virtual assault. Do nothing.
 

Oh but they should be worried, how many kids wanted to be on American idol, but didn't get a chance? And now you have this site, where everyone has a fair chance of joining, sure this is going to pose a threat to them, no more monopoly on the "average-Joe-rying-to-become-famous" industry

Ofcourse BIG difference is that here people don't actually sing...
 

haha, this is good, Fremantle Media are screwed, they wernt expecting the power and knowledge of the community power and love for Gidol! the community rules! stand strong!

well im not worried, Fremantle have no case,