When the Cease and Desist letters start flying

Already The Freecycle Network closed down a yahoo group that was into music and nothing to do with free recycling, simply because it has the word freecycle in the name. If they win their court case then without any constraints I wonder where their Cease and Desist letters might end up. If you put “freecycles” into google then you end up some interesting links.

One is a yahoo group of people who paint themselves. These are the “Painted Cyclists in the Fremont” who turn out each year for their Solstice Parade each year, and always with no clothes on. Interestingly their yahoo group started on May 30th, 2003. If Deron wins his legal battle, I wonder if he will cycle there and deliver his Cease and Desist letter by hand If he does I will be ready with my camera.

Another is a bike shop in Missouri offering bikes at no cost as a good deed to the community as part of a sustainable transport initiative. I am not sure their Cease and Desist letter will go down well with environmentalists anywhere. Interestingly I would argue this group had a greater claim to use the name since “free+cycles” = “freecycles”. They didn’t even have to leave out the “RE”.