8/19/2010
Via Email
Re: American Express Company’s objection to Use of AMERICAN EXPRESS Marks on Internet Web Site
To Whom It May Concern:
It has come to our attention that your company is unlawfully featuring an American Express trademark on Winward Casino Review $15 no deposit Casino bonus $50 Casino deposit bonus from Winward Casino, an active web site offering gambling services.
The American Express Company is the owner of numerous federal trademark registrations for the AMERICAN EXPRESS mark, including but not limited to, Registration No. 1,024,840 registered on November 11, 1975 and first used by American Express in 1850, Registration No. 1,032,516 registered on February 3, 1976 and Registration No. 1,230,270, registered on March 8, 1983. American Express has continuously and extensively used and advertised its AMERICAN EXPRESS trademark, making the AMERICAN EXPRESS mark famous in the United States and worldwide. The American Express Company also uses its AMERICAN EXPRESS mark in connection with its Internet web site at http://www.americanexpress.com. The AMERICAN EXPRESS trademark is a valuable asset of our company and we will take all reasonable steps to protect the mark.
Your company’s unauthorized use of an AMERICAN EXPRESS trademark in connection with a web site offering gambling services will tarnish the goodwill American Express has established in its mark and is in violation of federal and state law. Unlawful use of AMERICAN EXPRESS on your company’s web site offering gambling services is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or to deceive the public and is in violation of American Express’ federally-protected rights under 15 U.S.C. 1114 and 1125. Indeed, your company’s use of our famous AMERICAN EXPRESS mark on its web site appears to be clearly intended to falsely create the impression that American Express is somehow associated with your company and its services.
Accordingly, we request that you contact us within 10 days with written assurances that you will remove all use of the AMERICAN EXPRESS mark, or anything else confusingly similar thereto, from your company’s web site and that you will refrain from all use of the AMERICAN EXPRESS mark in any other manner. If we do not receive your assurances that your company will cease all us of our famous AMERICAN EXPRESS mark on its web site, we will have no choice but to refer this matter to our outside counsel with instructions to proceed with the appropriate legal action to protect the AMERICAN EXPRESS mark.
Sincerely,
Intellectual Property Unit