Oh my are people so sue happy! This is shameful at the very least. The only ones that win in instances like this are the attorneys.

Missy, thanks for the post.  I've been under a rock and haven't heard about this until today.  I'll be interested to see how this plays out, but in the meantime, no fun for Daniel being sued.

Daniel is THE real estate Zebra! He rocks the stripes! :)

Missy - thanks for posting to help elevate Daniel's case - you should consider updating by putting the articles by Jay and Drew into your article AND use their actual blog post titles as the anchor text. Pagerank and backlinks to their articles will help rank their posts higher on the google search for "The Lones Group" - (they both are already on page#1 at position 5 and 7) nice that you updated your twitter avatar in solidarity too - love that - kudos!

Who is Drew?

I will change and use the anchor text for Jay's, thanks!

Drew Meyers from Virtual Results here's the article URL

http://virtualresults.net/lones-group-failure-brand-suicide/

I think we have 3 blog posts already on page one for "The Lones Group" google search
Jay and Drew are so far highest

I have been reading about this case but your post is featuring the photos of "who owns the stripes?'

An agent here in Chicago was calling himself "the Superman of Real Estate" and did get a letter from Hollywood to drop it and he did.  That request had merit.  However, I am beginning to think "who owns the stripes?" is for the birds and doesn't deserve merit.  This will hurt the Lone Group with their future business.  While the two are not in the same business, I am beginning to think that it is selective suing.  I don't like that and it will hurt Daniel in his pocketbook. 

I have an answer for the Lone Group regarding who owns the copyright or patent on the stripes:  God. 

This is way out of left field and I am so glad that you have posted this as support for Daniel and others to hear and support him.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Craig! Hadn't read that one.

Barb, there are over 400 companies using Zebra in their trademark. Regardless of how it turns out, I am not an attorney, it is costly to have to defend yourself. 

 

Missy, Thanks, I did follow Jay's comments yesterday and I agree with him, this is a loser of a case for the Lones Group, even if they win, they lose.  Sometimes it is time to just shrug your shoulders and move on, while you still have a reputation and business to move on with!

I'm amazed that anyone thinks they can own the rights to an animal.....especially one so popular. I'm sure it will turn out ok, and I hope legal fees are part of the decision.

Daniel is a friend.  As he is with so many online which is very evident.  I feel so bad that he & Kari have to go through this junk!

I dont know Daniel and about his stripes prior to this. Here's one thing I know though: I'd be careful if I do come across The Lones group for any product they sell. I dont know them either but if they are sue-crazy, I'm avoiding it like a plague.

So glad they featured this, Missy.  Great job:-)  As you know, I didn't know any of the parties until this bizarre explosion... That said, in my understanding the people or companies have to at the very least be in the same business in order to potentially cost each other clients.  This seems to be either a very silly decision by the Lones group or a publicity ploy, although why anyone in their right mind (and in marketing to realtors line of work mind you) would want this kind of publicity is beyond me.

Wow, what a wave of support coming out for Daniel.  Nice to see people doing something about this best they can

Hi Missy,

What a mess.  I've been in internet marketing for six years.  I work with agents and brokers all over the country.  I never heard of the Lones Group until reading this post. 

I believe the Lones Group made a serious business mistake.  Maybe they should just change their company name to the ALONE Group.  They're not making any friends with this lawsuit.

Thanks to whoever featured this post. I am grateful as the more people will have an opportunity to read it and support Daniel and his family.

Inna, I hope she responds to your letter, I would like this to all go away.

 

Missy I must have net you in 2007 when I met Daniel also. What a stupid frivelious law suit. Publicity they wanted and received. I'm not sure I think all press is good press, not in this situation! Off to trademark all animals, paisley, polka dots. Who knows if you trademark stripes & zebras......

It's really hard to believe that a company that promotes themselves as marketing experts could wreck their own reputation by doing this!  Just the activity stirred up in the last 2 days is probably enough to ruin them!

It was Daniel's post on AgentGenius in October 2007 that finally helped me understand Twittter. I met him the next month at NAR in Las Vegas durng the blogging meetup. Afterwards I got to have dinner with Daniel, his wife Kari, Jeff Turner, Dustin Luther, and Greg Swann.

Seth Godin was speaking that year, and Daniel wanted to do something to 'be remarkable.' So he found his way to a local Sports Authority store and bought a referee shirt to wear during the day. There were several Real Estate Zebra sightings that week!

From what I've been reading it seems crazy to me.  A Zebra - come on.  I fail to see the possibility of them winning this kind of lawsuit.  It's like a Banana - anybody else could wear a Banana suit, could they not?  Daniel is a good guy and I bet he wins this one.

Missy - I'm not astutely familiar with either party, yet first came across this story on something Rich Jacobson had on FB.  And the fact that some folks who I am very familiar with (Rich, You, Jay, etc) are coming to Daniel's defense kind of has me on his side of the equation.   Seems to me that considering the Lones Group are (in theory) marketing to Realtors & the like on here, this makes little sense to pursue.  I say save what little face they may have and drop everything now. 

Of note, while I know Jay is trying to help raise money for Daniel's Defense which is a very good thing ... if Daniel is a Homeowner, there is also a good chance such a case may be covered under his Homeowner's Insurance.

It does seem to be a difficult situation for Daniel. I also have been in his presentaions . Good to have the group help .

I've been following this since I read the Inman article and have commented in several places. I also contributed what I could to Daniel's legal defense fund. The botom line is, for a company that touts itself as having "started the real estate marketing revolution", they are woefully inadequate in their own internet presence. The traffic to their site is minimal; their Facebook page has few fans and almost zero interaction from Lones; their Twitter account has less than 200 followers and just as few tweets; their blog is on the wordpress.com platform , not the self-hosted .org platform. Not the results you'd expect from a company that bills itself as "the ultimate source for real estate success".the ultimate source for Real Estate successthe ultimate source for Real Estate success

That is a terrible situation, sounds like a big waste of money only benefiting attorneys

I have read several posts on this in the past few days. It really does sound like there is a wolf out there in zebra's clothing.  Is that a trademark infringement?

Daniel has so much support I think the Lone Group will be out of business even if they win this law suit.

Hey Missy,

Good for you to share, I read about it on another forum last night and left a comment.

A few years back I had a bigger r.e. company (which shall remain nameless) bully me around, I was the little guy on that one. They sent me the usual cease and desist crap, to which I had to hire a trademark attorney to tell them to go pound sand...they did, end of story on that one.

Let's see, we have the Middle East going to hell, gas prices skyrocketing, Stefan Swanepoel releasing his new book Surviving Your Serengeti and now a one sided Zebra fight.  Glad I am a Giraffe and can "rise" above this, but I'm on Dan's side.

 

 

Wow, this is beyond ridiculous! Where are the damages? I would like to see her come out of the woodwork and produce one client that was "confused" or "stolen" by the similarity in names. If this goes all the way to trial, it will be very expensive to defend; I hope when he wins he will countersue her ass off for all his expenses.

Thanks Missy for the information, I heard about this on Facebook and didn't really know about it until yesterday.

Hi Missy~  This is the first I have heard of this, although I did notice a few scouting a zebra on their FB page.  Sounds like a bunch of crazy nonsense to me.  But, from what I have read  I would never use that Lones group either! 

Hi Missy. This case is bizarre and is doing more damage to HER business.

Missy - She does her blogging at BrokerAgentSocial. I have read some of her posts, but never (before this) did I associate her with a zebra image. If you drill down to her profile, which I have never previously bothered to do, there is a zebra picture and a mention of her zebra report...BFD! It is disappointing to see her overreacting like this. Thank goodness zebra wasn't one of the Surviving Your Serengeti animals or a lot of us could be getting sued...sort of a reverse class action, lol. 

Missy, You know what is SO funny?  I saw her blog here, on a new blog roll...Lones Group was rolling out their new colored zebras.  I commented that I liked the new colors.  NEVER once did it cross my mind that she and THE Real Estate Zebra, Daniel, were even CLOSE to having the same "branding model".  Not once.  I've known who the Real Estate Zebra is for several years now....just heard of the Lones Group here, about 2 weeks ago.

I have heard Daniel speak a few times and thought he did a fantastic job.  I don't know him personally, but have always heard wonderful things about him.  I will be contributing to his defense fund, because this IS ridiculous.  I can see both sides since I don't have a personal connection with either party.  In my opinion, she is really grasping at straws here and I would be embarrassed if I were her.  Seems like a money grubbing Attorney has brain washed her and ultimately, this will cost her not only $$$ but also potential business over the long haul.  Sad.

Google is already working it's magic...everyone will know that what seems to be a frivolous lawsuit has been filed...  The Lones Group, Trademark Infringement Suit, Lones Group Brand Suicide, and Why SEO Matters

Missy,

The Lones Group didn't factor in the impact of Social Media when they filed their lawsuit. They have done so much damage to their brand already.

Rich

Missy - I read about this for the first time yesterday and I'm in complete shock.  I feel horrible for Daniel and his family.

Missy, Just yesterday I knew nothing about this, and today it looks like a full-blown storm is brewing. Will donate

Glad the post was featrured. Lot's to be learned as this unfolds. I think it's STEEWPID btw... the suit.

I had never heard of the Lones Group before and I'm just a bit south of them in Tacoma, WA. I've been helping agents with marketing and websites for a decade! I certainly support Daniel and he's such a terrific person, I can't wait to finally meet him in real life for Agent Reboot next week!

For a company that supposedly "started the revolution" in marketing, their short-sightedness is appalling.

Whoops, I guess I wasn't logged in for my post above. Sorry!

Missy... glad to see that you wrote about this and that it was featured... I hate people that sue just because they can and that if dragged out, can cost someone a lot of money.. I am glad Jay got involved also.. and most of all, how this is spreading around the internet like wild fire... the power of the internet... this company has no idea what will hit them.. thanks for sharing.

Missy - I saw this break yesterday starting with the Inman article and then watched it snowball on Twitter and Facebook.  I'm so happy to see you and so many others writing in support of Daniel in light of this impending law suit that was brought about by The Lones Group.  I can't make heads or tails out of the reasoning behind it and hope The Lones Group pulls back on it before it ruins them publicly and professionaly.

Well said Missy.  I've been following the story and posting my thoughts through the day, as well as commenting on many of the posts.  I feel bad for Daniel and his family (specially 'LilZebra - one of my favorite Zebras).  I've posted some code for a #savethezebra badge/widget on my blog (both on AR and my main site) and a avatar is in my Twitter stream for anyone to use.

I just hope this ends quickly for Daniel.  He's tough and he'll get through it, but these types of complaints are costly - win or lose.

#savethezebra

Missy - thanks for helping spread the word. Daniel is one of the best human beings I've ever met, bar none. I'm not an attorney, and I don't know whether The Lones Group has a viable complaint or not. But it doesn't pass the common sense test -- they sell marketing material to real estate agents, Daniel -- and his small family brokerage who are also named in the lawsuit -- sell real estate. 

It makes no sense. It's absurd.

The Lones Group is, in my opinion, doing nearly irrepairable dameage to their name. How they possibly think this is worth it is beyond me.

Looking forward to seeing how this plays out. Happened to a friend of mine.

This is one of the most ridiculous suits I ever heard of.  Is there only one person in the entire world that can use a zebra for their branding?  May this will start to extend to anyone using black and white stripes in their marketing.

Missy, this will certainly be an interesting case to follow. It’s shameful … Zebra … seriously!

On the way home from the gym, I came up with these ideas on this can end elegantly. Justin Mchood had some excellent ones on his blog so wanted to include his link:

http://www.justinmchood.com/

My tips

1: Say "I goofed".
Tell Daniel Rothamel you're sorry. People reading about the lawsuit have been quick to anger; they're much more likely to forgive if this gets resolved quickly and without rancor.
‎

2: Withdraw the lawsuit.

3: Make a contribution to an African wildlife organization recommended by Stefan Swanepoel. I'd suggest the same amount you would have paid your attorneys.

4: Be on a RE Connect Panel with Daniel Rothamel, Jeff Turner and Stefan Swanepoel.

The topic?

"How to create a Web 2.0 disaster, and then recover from it as elegantly as possible"

Participation in the Kumbaya sing-along would be optional.

Frivolous lawsuits are encouraged by attorneys and companies seeking for revenue to stay afloat. . I just hope no one has a real estate company named Crocodile Real Estate. .I just wrote a post about it!

I guess the courts will have to decide. It's unfortunate but anybody can sue anybody over anything these days. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I don't know if you can trademark an animal of not.

I pwould think an attorney would have to be hired to trademark an animal or object. I'm not sure what the venue is for this particular situation and I do not know either party but have seen the first posts on FB. I guess the ruling will be determined by a judge.

Ira, I read your comment on Tech Savy Blog a few moments ago.

This would be an awesome outcome. We can only hope she has the courage to do so.

Matt, anyone can snag my photos too, they are all original.

Thanks for helping get the word out, I did leave it for re-blog if anyone wants to share with their friends or blogging buddies.Mainly try to donate something, every 10.00 helps !

Missy, this smells of someone with having tough times lashing out in desperation for something they don't deserve. There should be a counter-suit for a whole lot more plus legal fees as well. It's often been suggested that lawyers that start fricoulous suits be held accountable for part of the damages as ell. That would go a long way to stopping something this stupid in the future.

My response on Jay's blog:

Well their print market materials are beautiful but their website grade isn't all that for a Real Estate marketing revolutionary on website grader:  http://goo.gl/U6m1e

This is a classic example of someone's cheese getting moved and it reminds me of the agents who blamed, cried, whined and refused to conform to the new normal when our market changed instead of trying to be productive & running out and trying to figure out where their cheese is.

They have even been active on Active Rain in the last months of 2010 probably trying to ramp up business.

I am thinking this is a last ditch effort to blame someone for a business that is becoming extinct.  Maybe they should just change their logo to a dinosaur.

Memo:  The real estate marketing revolution is not in print anymore the cheese is in the world wide web somewhere.  Go find it.

This soound like the case of someone trying to make a name for themselves when none exists and grab some money in the process. The negative press they are going to receive however could be their down fall.

Lets hope the judge or the jury throws this out as soon as it is heard.

Lynda, Your comment reminded me of a time in the early 2000's when I received a cease and desist from Coldwell Banker corporate for having an image of a Golden Retriever dog on my independent real estate website.

The thing that kills me is they are 2,689 miles apart. The Lones Group also caters to real estate professionals who are their client base. I guess they are not too worried about us finding out and experiencing a backlash over attacking one of our own. 

Jon....what happened after that?

Noah put two zebras in the big wooden water tight Ark. There is enough space for two black and whites to market on a blue and green globe this big. Or to join forces... Double the black and white, twice the stripes. Zebra times two. If both are AR brethen, don't need to cause jr high, both sides of the gym "war between the states". I'm just saying.

Tom Johnson over on Bloodhound Blog posted these links of other companies using Zebra in their marketing.

Interesting huh?

 

www.zebra.com
www.zebra.ru
www.zebraconsulting.com

www.zebrapromos.com

www.zebrapen.com

.....and then there is http://www.fanhouse.com/tag/ZebraReport/ which is a sports site dealing with referee decisions.  This site comes up in the first 4 positions on Google for the search term "Zebra Report" and the antagonist in this discussion is 5th.  The first mention of Daniel is in the 10th spot and that is the Inman article which started this whole discussion.  Nothing about Daniels own Zebra Report shows in the top 30 positions, so how can the plaintiff in this lawsuit claim "damages" when clearly there is no direct competition.

There are some lawsuits that are very bogus.  Others have merit and are valid.  Here's the thing, the Lones Group has "The Zebra REPORT" (emphasis added.)  A REPORT! 

The Lones Group offers marketing, and their "Zebra Report" is a weekly NEWSLETTER . . . "Don't miss our free weekly newsletter!  Be a Zebra and stay informed!" -- is what it reads in the banner for The Zebra Report.

Daniel Rothamel has "Real Estate Zebra"  . . . which seems to be a blog post and his e-newsletter is "Inside the Zoo".

The facts:

• Lones Group has a newsletter called "The Zebra Report"
• Daniel Rothamel has a blog post called the Real Estate Zebra
• but Daniel's NEWSLETTER is called "Inside the Zoo"

Daniel's "newsletter" IS NOT CALLED a REPORT, and doesn't even include the word ZEBRA

Daniel offers real estate services, offer blogging, social-networking tips, but doesn't set up or host or market websites, etc to real estate agents.

Ben Kinney kinda does the same thing, i.e., is a real estate agent, but is a speaker and offers marketing strategies in a seminar setting, but doesn't offer these types of services directly. 

Daniel's group should sue for sanctions IMHO.

I couldn't believe this lawsuit business from the minute it hit the news online.  I didn't know you could trademark an animal!!!  But I am in complete agreement with the massive court of public opinion out there...I think that The Lones Group has done far more than the $75,000 in damage to their own reputation than the Real Estate Zebra could have or could ever do.  It is a teachable moment in history about the power of the internet and marketing.  Good post!  Long live the Real Estate Zebra!

I have never met him but I support him completely. I don't know how anyone can claim rights to the term "zebra" other than another zebra! I certainly hope that this is thrown out of court fast. Anyone who hears this case is sadly out of touch with reality.

Missy - I've never heard of Lones Group though I've heard of the Real Estate Zebra for many years.  I'll have to go take a look at the different posts.

I have never met him but I support him completely. I don't know how anyone can claim rights to the term "zebra" other than another zebra! I certainly hope that this is thrown out of court fast. Anyone who hears this case is sadly out of touch with reality.

As a licensed Broker here in Washington State, I have attended real estate classes taught by the founder of The Lones Group, Denise Lones. She is a smart, charismatic woman who effectively facilitates a spirited training session, and makes learning fun. Her company provides training and marketing services to several leading brokerages/agents in the Pacific Northwest, so obviously there is value in what they offer. However, this litigation is going to have a hugely adverse affect on their future business potential. Whatever damages they may be awarded as a result of successfully winning this suit will pale in comparison to the damages that their reputation and business will most certainly suffer. 

I think it's funny how it dovetails with Stefan's book this week. I'm a crocodile, thank God. No zebra danger.

When I first saw Zebra, I thought I had missed and animal in the Surviving the Serengeti quiz and wanted to find out about it! 

Seems odd that a training and marketing company believes that a Real estate agent (who is the market that she caters to exclusively) is her competition! If Realtors are her competition, why does she coach and sell products to them? Why are two of her next publicized events at the Seattle Association of Realtors?  

How would anyone know that she has copyrighted or trademarked anything if she doesn't use the appropriate symbols on her websites? (screenshots taken) 

I think that all of this is so unfortunate for so many reasons.  When I first started with Active Rain, I subscribed to her blog....I thought she had some great ideas and marketing presence, I even bookmarked a few of her posts!  When I first saw this media frenzy on FB today, I immediately went to her blog where apparently she has been deleting all of the comments on her posts.  She should just disable them at this point because the ones that are there are definitely not to her credit.  Too bad, she has painted herself into a corner and even if she wins the lawsuit, she has lost all credibility as a real estate trainer.

Sally, I took the dog off of my site. If I knew now what I knew then I would have told them to stuff it. 

http://soundbiteblog.com/2011/02/28/lessons-learned-through-social-media/

Missy, great post. Unfortunate that we are reading and writing these type of posts. It could be any of us, and that is what scares the hell out of me. As Jonathan said, he pulled down a picture of a Golden Retriever because of CB. Although he also says he would not have done it if he knew then what he knows now. But still, it is a painful process to go through.

But no matter, it is here and it is real. It must be torture for Daniel and his family. What good can come out of this? We have stood together, Daniel now knows how much he is respected. But that is just not enough. Even if the donations cover the legal fees, the wear and tear on his nerves is costly too.

I know I will remember this for a long time, every time I see a Zebra I will think of Daniel, I will associate the Zebra with this battle. I will not, however, use or recommend the Lones Group because I think this shows a character of a person I would not do business with. That is suicide...

Although... I was thinking that there could be a market for the Lones Group later on, they may think about changing their brand to the "Lone Wolf" brand... because that is the image I have in my head... a wolf chasing a zebra. Sometimes your brand just finds you .....

Andrea, I don't think The Lones Group should use Lone Wolf as their brand. I think these guys would be kind of upset! We (and quite a few other brokerages) use them for accounting and transaction management.

Hi Missy,

I will be going to Jay's site. In the meantime, here is a little support for your post.  We all like photos so I thought I would share this one. Maybe they would like to trademark this one. Too late, God created it, owns it and looks over it as well.

I particularly like the comment about the court of public opinion and certainly hope it holds true.

 

Ever since this started I've been seeing zebras everywhere!  Went shopping at Anthropologie yesterday and saw a cute purse with zebras on it, a blouse with zebras all over it, and a journal with a zebra on the cover.  I could have spent a fortune showing my support, but I'd rather do that by contributing to the legal costs.

I have been following this story and it is very interesting. Seems like some people should think a little more before they act. And, as I mentioned before, if this guy can get sued, why can't zebras everywhere just pull together and do a class action suit against the both of 'em (read: tongue in cheek)?

Missy,

Thanks for the links!  I just got back from the Facebook page you mentioned.  I'll be interested to see how this shakes out.

Mike in Tucson

I hadn't heard of this at all, Missy.  It's sad, for sure, that your friend is going through this but my goodness the court case is interesting. 

I've been following some of the tid bits of this whole story but on the legal end of it...

I don't know either of them but regardless of who is right or wrong....I'm not an attorney but I've read some comment streams out there and it totally goes against many many blogs that are written here about how not to bash a person or company by name. If there is something derogatory that needs to be posted...at least the names shouldn't be exposed. Remember the story about Courtney Love? She did a lot of trash talking on Twitter about a company...she was sued and had to pay...it's all up to the people posting to have some common sense and that could come back and bite them in the butt. It's not for me to say but I would only be careful not to bring emotions into this and treat it as an issue to be resolved by a judge and jury in court no matter what.