The Lones Group sues Daniel “The Real Estate Zebra” Rotham

UPDATE 3-10-11: It appears that The Lones Group and Daniel Rothamel may be close to coming to an agreement out of court (click here to see Daniel Rothamel’s letter to The Lones Group – make sure you read all 4 pages of the letter). Unfortunately, it may mean that Daniel “The Real Estate Zebra” Rothamel may soon be referred to as Daniel, “formerly known as The Real Estate Zebra” Rothamel. It’s unfortunate that justice in this country is often determined by who has the bigger pockets and more high priced lawyer than what and who is actually right.

Yes, this is a hyper-local real estate blog site dedicated to Loudoun County real estate. No, this post has nothing to do with Loudoun County real estate. But it has everything to do with right and wrong and a great person who is one of the original real estate bloggers from “back in the day”.

Daniel Rothamel, also known as “The Real Estate Zebra” is a legend. Not only because he’s a great guy and a great agent. But also because he’s one of the pioneers of utilizing blogging and social media as a tool in real estate. The icing on the cake is that he gives of himself and shares his knowledge more than anyone else around.

And he’s been hit with a lawsuit.

Let me preface the following by saying that I am not an attorney and have little knowledge of IP law. This is my personal opinion based on my grasp on common sense what seems right and wrong. In no way does my personal opinion mean that Market Advantage Real Estate, its’ broker or other any other Market Advantage Real Estate agent feels the same way.

The lawsuit was filed by The Lones Group, located in Washington state, which “specializes in helping Real Estate Agents, Brokers and Business Owners implement new systems and effective marketing techniques to give them a competitive edge.” The lawsuit claims that Daniel Rothamel’s use of a Zebra, its stripes and the actual word “Zebra” is trademark infringement.

In The Lones Group’s own words…

“At the heart of the controversy was Mr. Rothamel’s use of “Real Estate Zebra”, which created confusion with our ‘Zebra Report’. In addition, Mr. Rothamel’s “trade dress” – the distinctive ‘look’ that people associate with a person’s services – is very similar to ours. This causes confusion. It’s in everybody’s best interest for the confusion to end.”

So what you (The Lones Group) are saying is…

1) Because you have a rainbow Zebra for your “Zebra Report” and a cropped photo of a Zebra’s face on your web site, no one else can use a Zebra or Zebra stripes in any way, shape or form on their site nor even mention the word “Zebra”…?!

2) People may confuse (aka people are stupid enough not to be able to distinguish between) a small town REALTOR(r) Daniel “The Real Estate Zebra” Rothamel in Virginia and a Washington state marketing firm The Lones Group and their Zebra Report…?!

Since, and I quote, “The Lones Group started the Real Estate marketing revolution… and we are darn proud of it!” (suuuuuure you did), perhaps it was also The Lones Group that created the Zebra (the actual animal) in which case I’m sure Daniel will gladly stop using the stripes and name of an animal which he was obviously falsely led to believe has been on this earth for 4 million years.

But then again…perhaps the Zebra has been around for 4 million years and people are stupid, I mean get confused easily. But then why are these companies and their logos able to legally and peacefully co-exist just fine…

Note: Mini is owned by BMW and Bentley is owned by Audi, competitors in the same industry yet, they and their logos get along just fine

For whatever reason, The Lones Group has decided to pick on possibly the nicest guy not only in real estate, but ever. In the process of picking on Daniel, The Lones Group has picked on his family, but not just his wife and kid, but his entire extended family - us.

And now that The Lones Group has involved Daniel’s entire family and we’ve spoken up, you’re accusing us of “aggressive online bullying”. Let me tell you something…I was a really fat kid growing up so I know bullying better than I ever want to know. This is not bullying. This is people giving their opinion after reading your official complaint and the reasoning behind it and then voicing their disagreement with it and calling you out on claims you make such as, “The Lones Group started the Real Estate marketing revolution….”

Regardless of the outcome in the court room, one thing is certain… Daniel Rothamel will be known more as “The Real Estate Zebra” than ever before and The Lones Group will sit alongside this case study some of you may remember from a few years ago in how not to manage your reputation.

Daniel – Don’t put away those stripes because you will always be “The Real Estate Zebra”

http://ZebraDefenseFund.com

#savethezebra