Big Bear is now GAK Trading, Inc.

[fronzdan]

I wonder if AAA could go after AAAPachislo.com?

Gaku's days were numbered anyway...Google on "Big Bear" and see how many companies use 'bigbear' in their domain and business name.

[buccsboi]

I for one find their argument ridiculous and have even wrote to them about it. Also I forwarded their letter to many friends online that also like pachislo and pachinko to let them know who NOT to deal with.. Hope to buy from you this summer though Gaku...

BuccsBoi
-----
Below is the letter:
----
Because of the fact you've decided to strong arm and harrass your competition with unmerited threats. Its very sad and pathetic and you've surely lost customers, possible dozens. I have many friends both in the real world and online that I will forward your horrible letter to, that may have otherwise bought from you. You also make me sad to be from Maryland where you are based.. Good day


Garrett

[tedkimura]

I heard that you folks are talking about me. Well, I have my side of the story to tell as well.

First of all, I was very surprised to find out that Mr. Kino****a posted the initial letter for everyone in this group to see. It was between Mr. Kino****a and myself and no one else really needed to be involved.

A few months ago at the same time when I sent a letter to Mr. Kino****a, one of the member of Pachitalk group informed me that someone on Ebay was using my name, “kimura” as his ID and trying to sell pachislos on the net. This group member asked me if that person was me. I was concerned that many people would associate his business with mine and I wasn’t happy about it. I did some research and I found that his name was completely different from his ID. I sent messages of complaint to him as well as to Ebay. Within 12 hours, he changed his ID to something else. He told me that “kimura” is his admired marshal art instructor’s name and that is why he used this name for his ID but Ebay didn’t accept his excuse. Since that incident I have become very cautious re: these types of issues.

I registered Pachisloshop.com in late 2002 to sell pachislos. Syscon registered it’s domain, “pachislo.com” in late 2003. As far as I know, Mr. Kino****a registered his domain sometime after that. I’ve asked him why he used “pachisloshop” as a part of his domain name but he has never given me a straight answer other than that he has never heard of me or pachisloshop.com till he got my letter few months ago. I don’t know why he didn’t use other terms such as “pachislofactory” or “pachislooutlet” or whatever, but he can’t use my entire domain name as part of his domain!

When someone is copying a word such as “pachisloshop” for part of their domain name, it is not much different than using my name as their ID. I see it as a “dilution”* of trade names and this act is illegal in the United States. (I did not create the word “pachislo”. It was simply there and I didn’t know the ownership of this word. Therefore, everyone has a right to use this word for ID purpose.) However, when combining two words becomes the identity of someone or is associated with a business name then it should not be used in a “copycat” manner. It seems very much like he was trying to get a step ahead by using part of my popular domain name. If he did “borrow” my domain name with this intention, then wouldn’t this be very similar to identity theft?

My last question is, if Mr. Kino****a has done the right thing, then why did he feel compelled to change his domain name? He must have recognized it was the only proper legal and appropriate thing to do.

And -- That’s my side of the story….

Regards,
Ted Kimura, President
Kimura International, Inc.
(d.b.a. Pachisloshop.Com)

(*)The case involves the legal standard called "dilution," which the federal government interprets as "the lessening of the capacity of a famous mark to identify and distinguish goods and services." (For additional info. go to Google and type – “Victoria’s Secret vs. Victor’s Little Secret”)

[alstonj1]

I think you give yourself way to much credit Ted . you are by no means a famous landmark and unless you've copyrighted "pachisloshop" and i doubt you have it means absolutely nothing . As for someone using your last name as an i.d. on ebay i'm sure its happened many times before since one can use any nick they wish to use . if he had said he was Ted Kimura you probably have a case but otherwise i really doubt it unless he was intentionally trying to emulate you .As for Gaku changing his URL it's possible he wanted to avoid a confrontation or the cost of a prolongated legal battle over a business name when the profits from these machines is not very big to begin with .To me it shows that your a paranoid individual and since you turned someone in for using the name Kimbra as an i.d. I'm sure you probably turn in others for forgetting a line in a disclaimer just to eliminate competition . This is more the act of a desperate person not a good salesman and in my opinion will probably cost you most of the business of people on this board .We talk about many things on this board and reputation is a very large part of dealing with e-bay vendors and you sir have a very bad rep now . I base my opinion on the fact that you are upset at gaku for having posted your letter to him and you mention that as though it was a privileged communication , Ted wake up this is the INTERNET not the u.s. mail anything posted on the net is like putting it on a corner bulletin board You made your bed now you'll have to sleep in it .in closing enjoy your ebay sales i hope you don't loose to much business that you were diligently trying to save .....

[20sporty02]

give me a break!!
The case involves the legal standard called "dilution," which the federal government interprets as "the lessening of the capacity of a famous mark to identify and distinguish goods and services." (For additional info. go to Google and type – “Victoria’s Secret vs. Victor’s Little Secret”)

dont you have to be FAMOUS first!! i didnt know pachisloshop was
you are a BULLY! plain and simple
and you had ebay come down on someone because they had your name? you are just ate up with yourself if you ask me...there IS better things in life ..


http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/imag...ser_online.gif http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/imag...pager_icon.gif http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/imag...ons/report.gif

[Tulsa]

Yes Ted, we've been talking about you. Many times over the years and always in a positive light until this situation. Too bad it took this to finally get you to acknowledge the worlds largest English speaking group of pachi owners.

Now as to your argument, just because you register pachisloshop.com does not stop someone else from registering pachisloshop.net or .org. You only own these if you register them. This is the internet not bound by US borders. Anyone in the world can register any name currently not in use regardless of where they are located. Suffice it to say, if this had been registered in Croatia, you'd be SOL.

The fact that Gaku has been known as BigBear to us means there was always a distinction between the two businesses. It probably would have done you some good to check into this prior to sending that strong arm letter to find out if this really was infringing on your business. It would have been good to check into the ramifications of such a letter from the very people buying from you. At some point, almost everyone who owns a pachislo is coming through these doors.

Gaku has taken a proactive role in helping this site better understand our hobby and for this we are endeared to him. This has not stopped this site from promoting your site however. Do a search of your name and your company's name and you'll see what I mean.

You may have thought this was a smart business decision to make but without considering what the fallout would be or doing the research necessary prior to sending that letter, it wasn't.

[luckydog]

We are all like a big family here and like a family we like to discuss many things.

I'm sure the reason Gaku changed his domain was to prevent a legal hassle which would have cost him time and money.

The example you gave is a regular store, not an internet domain name.

http://www.simply.com/order/domains/...sults.php?hid=

I have used bestbuy on ebay for over 7 years and luckydog for 7 years, many people have used similar names and just added a few letters or numbers. I don't worry about this, I just give the best service that I can.

I have never bought anything from either of you, but do visit your websites and I have links to each on my computer.

[Lddrizzt]

Kimura International, Inc.
GAK Trading Inc.

Oh yes Ted these seem to be the same to me...

On your site I see Kimura International, Inc. in the title bar, contact page and at the bottom of your main page.

On the old Big Bear website it always said it was GAK Trading Inc. in numerous locations. If memory serves it was in the header on most all of his pages.

I do believe that it would be obvious to even the most dense individual that they were on the Big Bear/GAK Trading Inc. website. Taking away any confusion between your site and his.

You state he stole your url by using it as part of his. First it is a web address not a famous mark. Second you are selling a product that carries famous marks put on the machine by the manufacturer. You do not own these marks, and I really doubt that you have permission to use their Trademarked work as part of your logo:
pachislo.jpg
Just to cover my azz, the above image belongs to Ted Kimura, and contains copyrighted material.
I stole it from his website and wanted to give him credit so I don't get a threatening letter.

[Tony Junior]

Ted Kimura,

First, let me thank you for having the courage to come here, the most popular pachi-related site on the internet. That took courage sir.

I can understand your reasoning for wanting to keep "pachisloshop" your own, and you stated the reason, "When someone is copying a word such as “pachisloshop” for part of their domain name, it is not much different than using my name as their ID. I see it as a “dilution”* of trade names and this act is illegal in the United States. (I did not create the word “pachislo”. It was simply there and I didn’t know the ownership of this word. Therefore, everyone has a right to use this word for ID purpose.) However, when combining two words becomes the identity of someone or is associated with a business name then it should not be used in a “copycat” manner. It seems very much like he was trying to get a step ahead by using part of my popular domain name. If he did “borrow” my domain name with this intention, then wouldn’t this be very similar to identity theft?"

IF Gaku did "borrow" your domain name, then yes, that would be similar to identity theft. However, I seriously doubt he did, for the very same reason I tell you now. I have owned slot machines for a number of years, Pachislos for just a few years, and frankly sir, never once have I used the term "pachisloshop" in any search. I simply use "pachislo." I think it was petty of you to demand of Gaku to change his sitename, which we all thought of as "Big Bear," or "Gaku at Big Bear."

I honestly don't see how the unregistered terms, "pachislo" and "shop" could be claimed by you, Gaku, or anyone else for that matter.

Let me add that until I read the reason Gaku changed his site name I had read nothing but good about you and your site. Even though I have never bought from you, I certainly planned on doing just that.

Let me also state that Gaku has been very supportive of this site, goes out of his way to help those of us who have purchased machines from him, creates helpful play guides for any who seeks them, and goes out of his way for anyone who is simply interested in our hobby.

Now even though your "rating" among the members of this site has plummeted over the last few days, you may possibly redeem your much higher "rating" by first admitting you may have been a bit hasty in demending Gaku change his site name, and secondly, by becoming an active member by offering advice on what to do when someone has a problem with a machine, no matter who the seller was, offer replacement parts IF you have any for their problem (at a nonimal cost, of course), and help those who are trying to figure out what certain plays or phrases mean!

You might also offer a small discount to the members here who will eventually purchase from you.

These are my suggestions only, and do not represent the owners of this site, nor the opinion of anyone else. I hope you will seriously consider them though. The hobby could certainly use another quality supplier!

Thank you,
Anthony "Tony Junior" Rahe
Pine Bluff, Arkansas

[johntofva]

That was well written Tony.

And Ted, he is right. All of this is in the past. How we start tomorrow off is what is important. It is easy to become defensive after reading all of this. But stop and think for a couple of days. Then proceed with the best way to advance this hobby. I am sure you will come to the right conclusion.

[fronzdan]

Well I thought it would be a good idea to come in and give "the other side" of the story and doing so very well might have quelled some of the negative backlash over all this. But....err...I think that response might have made things worse.

I can totally understand the complaint with the ebay dealer using the ID "Kimura" (TM) to sell pachislos on eBay. That's understandable, especially considering it wasn't even the guy's name. But that doesn't really have anything to do with Gaku, does it?

Going after Gaku in this manner is a completely different story. First of all I still don't quite understand how bigbearpachisloshop.com would steal hits from pachisloshop.com?! If I were looking to buy a pachislo, I'd Google "pachislo". In fact, I just did. Guess who's on the top of the listing?? www.pachisloshop.com (TM)!! Gaku's site doesn't even show up in the first several pages I scanned. If I google "pachislo shop"....no Gaku. If I google "pachisloshop"....no Gaku. Also, I don't see how someone who intends to go to pachisloshop.com, could accidentally type the letters "b-i-g-b-e-a-r" in front of it. That would be one heck of a bad typo.
If anything I think the boost in business would be the reverse. With all the reference material and info that Gaku has given to the community for free, he might just have helped pachisloshop.com get some business. I think it's much easier to forget to type "bigbear" in front of the URL than to accidentally add it.

And again, I read the implication that Gaku started this thread as an underhanded way to turn people against Ted. Does this sound like someone who's trying to start trouble or admitting guilt?

The primary reason for this move is Mr. Ted Kimura’s request (see below). Although I didn't think his argument was very justifiable, I did think he was having a hard time getting clicks on his website. Since I didn’t want to drive anyone out of business because of my domain name and wasn't really attached to the word, "pachislo" or "pachisloshop" anyway, I decided to change my domain name "bigbearpachisloshop" to my legal company name "GAK Trading, Inc."

Sounds pretty civil and harmless to me. I can't speak for Gaku himself, but I honestly don't think he gives a crap about the URL and only regrets dropping "Big Bear" which he's really been known as. That and he felt a bit offended by the strong arm tactics out of the blue. It seems to me he just complied to avoid conflict and do Mr Kimura a professional courtesy.

This on the other hand seems pretty combative and slanderous...

It seems very much like he was trying to get a step ahead by using part of my popular domain name. If he did "borrow" my domain name with this intention, then wouldn’t this be very similar to identity theft?

My last question is, if Mr. Kino****a has done the right thing, then why did he feel compelled to change his domain name? He must have recognized it was the only proper legal and appropriate thing to do.

Yep...I think that response just made things worse.

[NiTRO]

Um...also, if somebody intends to visit to pachisloshop.com, they're not going to somehow accidentally type bigbearpachisloshop.com and end up there by mistake. URLs are deliberate. This is the Internet. There is no confusion here. Furthermore, Pachisloshop.com comparing itself to Victoria's Secret is completely absurd. Eh, different league. And again, Victoria's Secret is TM AND famous internationally while pachisloshop.com is neither. The legal arguement basically ends there.

Role play for fun:

Tom: "Hey Bob!"

Bob: "What?"

Tom: "You should go check out pachisloshop.com! I hear they have great deals on pachislots!"

Bob: "Did you say 'go check out bigbearpachisloshop.com?'"

Tom: "Um, no. I said check out pachisloshop.com"

Bob: "Oh...'cause I could swear I heard a 'Big Bear' in there somewhere. I guess I was confused."


Nuff said. I'll let this one lie.

[Sid]

[IMG]http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c354/sidkaras/tn_AAno_bull_****_clip.jpg[/IMG]

[Tulsa]

Well I guess Ted Kimura still thinks this site is a total waste of time. We are nothing in his eyes. He has requested to be removed from this site as a user.

[computer bob]

Well I guess Ted Kimura still thinks this site is a total waste of time. We are nothing in his eyes. He has requested to be removed from this site as a user.

Well, it certainly isn't our loss.

[drcrippen324]

Well I guess Ted Kimura still thinks this site is a total waste of time. We are nothing in his eyes. He has requested to be removed from this site as a user.

Well when your that bigger player whats a few thousend potential customers when you can walk away knowing your a man and not having to appologise or even try a half halted atempt at a reasonable explanation

and to think he could have redeemed himself slightly by offering up a spin luck for the rite price for willie or even donating it and becoming only half the ass he is

[Tulsa]

I generally don't purge posts too much as I like to have the archive for everyone to search (even though most have no clue what that word means) but in this case.. I may purge everything but this thread associated with him.

He doesn't want to be here after all...

[drcrippen324]

hmm i like the way you thinking if im reading that rite

[Frank A]

Fellow Members: I have removed the bookmark on my desk top for Mr Ted I own the world Pachislo. Any one else feel like removing his bookmark as a protest to anarchy and repression of free enterprise ? Frank A, Jackson, NJ

[luckydog]

It takes a real man to admit your wrong, I don't think he will be missed here.