Lawyer allegedly tries to squeeze Texas restaurants over their assumed names.
Think cybersquatters, who register trademarked domain names in an attempt to extort the trademark owners, are bad people? Get a load of this.
Texas lawyer Mina Brees has allegedly threatened Texas restaurants that let their assumed names lapse. After their assumed name filings (also know as “doing business as”) with the county lapsed, Brees allegedly snapped them up through a company she is president of. She then sent demand letters to the restaurants offering them the opportunity buy back their names for $20,000 “prior to using or transferring the assumed name … to another business entity”.
Ouch.
The Texas Attorney General is looking into the demand letters to see if there are possible violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, writes the Austin American-Statesman.
If the name Mina Brees sounds familiar, that’s because she’s the mother of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. That she would be caught up in such a scandal probably doesn’t come as a surprise to the Saints’ QB; back in 2006 he asked her to stop using his photo in commercials when she ran for Texas’ 3rd Court of Appeals. At the time he said his relationship with his mother was “non-existent” after he declined to hire her as his agent.
M. Menius says
What a strange story. Might need a new category “Truly Bizzare Domain News”. 😉
Stuff like this makes posting GOOD news all the more important! lol
Ozie Jackson says
Strange. How do you buy an assumed name from the county government? And how does it lapse? Did these businesses not pay a yearly filing fee with the local government and therefore their business name just goes to whoever wants to pay the fees? Not a good look for local Texas law.
Andrew Allemann says
Ozie – in most states you just pay for an assumed name, a.k.a. dba. As long as there’s not a conflict you can get it. You also do it through your county. In Texas I believe they last 10 years. These restaurants let their dba lapse.
Jamie Parks says
Karma?
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2009/08/08/mina_brees_prominent_austin_at.html
Ozie Jackson says
Karma indeed.
Prof. Charles Hanor says
Filing an assumed name gives you no right to use a name. Trademark law based on first actual use in a business controls. Even registering a trademark based on the required actual use does not wipe out prior common law trademarks rights based on first use. Registering an assumed name and sending a cease and desist letter is preposterous. It is gross incompetency. The assumed name statutes are obsolete and no longer serve any useful purpose.