Trademark Information

  DISASTER MASTERS ®

The trademark DISASTER MASTERS ® was first used in interstate commerce on July 1, 1980 and its registration number 1, 208,996 was issued by the Patent and Trademark office on Sept, 14, 1982 in the United States in Class 37, Services. Subsequently it was also registered with the Canadian Trademark office.

Later on, DISASTER MASTERS added 2 more classes.  Class 14 for apparel related products and Class 25 for jewelry related products.

This well-defined and federal court-tested trademark provides that..

No person or entity is allowed to use the words DISASTER MASTER or DISASTER MASTERS® to identify any company that provides services to the order and specification of others including planning, maintenance, crisis management, construction or restorations of any sort anywhere in North America.

Even an auto body repair shop would not be able to use these words to identify their company or to use these words in any marketing or advertising materiel.

Moreover, no person or company can produce any product using this mark for identification for any reasons on any type of apparel like a T- Shirt, a board game or jewelry like the face of a wristwatch without infringing on DISASTER MASTERS' ® trademark.

Should a film or TV show producer wanted to make a movie or a television series named DISASTER MASTERS their lawyers would need to secure a license to do so from DISASTER MASTERS ® Inc., a New York Corporation.

Trademark Purpose

The development, marketing and protection of patents and trademarks are a costly affair, which is why Federal Trademarks exists. Imagine what would happen if anyone could make and sell their version of Coke or Pepsi..  "Coke" of South Miami would not have a chance.

Registered trademarks provide the trademark owner (s) with federal protection so the mark cannot be diluted in any way whatsoever and to insure that consumers get consistent products and services.  It is illegal for any person or entity to receive pecuniary benefits using the words DISASTER MASTERS to identify and product or service in North American without a license.

Act First Research Later

Unfortunately some 30 entrepreneurs have enter into business in the past 20 years who have adapted or adopted  DISASTER MASTERS trademark  to identify their new company. Eventually we find out about their operation and then the infringers run into serious trouble as soon as we learn of others diluting or abusing the DISASTER MASTERS mark.

This usually occurs when a customer dials a local or toll free information services and get one of our international phone numbers especially 1 800 THE PLAN or 1 800 THE CLAIM.

Protecting Our Trademark

Once we learn of any infringement we take all necessary steps to protect our valuable trademark to whatever extent necessary.

In the case of Class 37 Services, the first thing we do is to review the internet directories, the local Yellow Page advertising books in the infringers marketing area to see how much damage has been created by the infringers advertising DISASTER MASTERS name in phone books with phone numbers that we do not yet control.

Providing that the infringer has never secured a local or toll free telephone number and listed it, as DISASTER MASTERS the issue of residual pecuniary benefits may not apply. If, however, an infringer has placed the DISASTER MASTERS’ name and their telephone numbers in any kind or type of annual directory, then, the only way that we can protect our good name and to remedy the infringement is to have all of the telephone numbers advertised as DISASTER MASTERS placed in our name and directed to our corporate offices so that we can provide the callers with factual information about our services and assistance for DISASTER MASTERS products and services.

Logic for Methodology

When a local telephone number that advertises DISASTER MASTERS is simply disconnected to cure the infringement, all new callers will get the impression that DISASTER MASTERS is no longer in business, which is untrue and very damaging.

Conversely, if we were to allow the infringer to continue to use a telephone number(s) that has residual Yellow Page advertising, then, we would not be able to properly manage DISASTER MASTERS' mark and our public image. Moreover, the infringer would continue to reap financial rewards using our name and perhaps damage or alter the public's perception of what DISASTER MASTERS is and does. This is not acceptable.

We know that when any telephone number advertised as DISASTER MASTERS is answered by unauthorized or unlicensed people this act clearly creates money damages as well as our hard earned reputation.

Initial Plan of Action

Depending on which state the infringer is located; our corporate offices will either send a  "Cease and Desist" letter or retain a local patent and trademark attorney to represent our interest.

Our goal is to give the infringer sufficient notice and evidence for them to want to work with us to provide them with the easiest and cheapest solution to resolve the matter. It is best for all parties. Providing the infringer can qualify by meeting our requirements, we may provide a limited license for a fee until the infringer can select a new company identity and all residual directory advertising has run its course. Yellow page directories have a shelf life of 3 to 5 years before they are 80% replaced.

Case Histories

On more than 11 occasions, certain individuals around the US and Canada opened a business as DISASTER MASTER or DISASTER MASTERS, or Disaster Masters Restoration, or DISASTER MASTERS Cleaning or DISASTER MASTERS of "some city" thinking that they may not be found or infringe on the DISASTER MASTERS  mark but then then later learned the expensive way that a Federal Trademark supercedes all state registrations.

The first infringer was a Florida man in1984 who was not very happy when he learned that his attorney had failed to inform him that Federal Trademarks supersede states when it comes interstate commerce. Due to either ignorance or arrogance, Mr. Larry Norton of  6351 Lake Worth Road Suite 222 Lake Worth Florida 33463 was forced to cease and desist using DISASTER MASTERS Inc. a Florida Corporation.

Fair and Reasonable Remedies

Some infringers felt that they should only be required to change their name from Disaster Masters to Some Other Disaster Services etc. yet retain the local and toll free telephone numbers that they caused to be published in annual directories (Yellow Pages) using our mark DISASTER MASTERS to attract customers. This remedy does not work in that it allows the infringer to continue to reap undue rewards through the use of our trademark and perhaps seriously damage the public's perception of the mark.

Best and Cheapest Solution

Other than retaining the services of an attorney and having a Federal Judge decide the outcome the only economic viable alternative available for the infringer is to immediately destroy any and all paper, building signs, truck lettering, flyers, letterhead, and any dynamic documents that have the trademark  DISASTER MASTERS printed, painted, embossed or labeled.

Printed Directories, Phone Numbers, Internet Domains and Web Site Matters

Inasmuch as some infringers placed DISASTER MASTERS name in association directories, print advertising, radio or TV ads,   periodicals or Yellow Page directories this means that without our permission the DISASTER MASTERS mark is now in tens of  thousands of listings in print media, telephone books. This fact  creates even a larger problem to cure the infringement. Moreover it also creates consequential money damages.

Consequential Money Damages

The damages caused by the illegal use of the DISASTER MASTERS  mark depends on how much time, labor, resources, attorney fees, goodwill damages,  out of pocket expenses is required for the trademark owners repair or arrest the ongoing infringements. Directory advertising has a an averagej5 year shelf life before 80 percent of the yellow page books are replaced by current ones therefore we have to deal with this fact for 5 years after the infringer ceases and desists which cost untold dollars in time and reparations to callers who have read the ads.

For obvious reasons, an infringer cannot be allowed to retain or manage any telephone number(s) that advertise DISASTER MASTERS in any way.

  they caused to be placed in any printed directory on on the web in any way whatsoever including domains that include the DISASTER MASTERS MARK. Example. www.e-disaster-masters.org or any other combination that could cause confusion for consumers about the DISASTER MASTERS mark.

. s , bu every paper and marketing   every know the phone number (s) to us so that we may deal directly with callers appropriately. Provided that the infringers are willing to pay a monthly fee for this service and a forwarding fee, we will promptly forward legitimate leads to them while they undergo a change in corporate identity.

We are open to any reasonable method of resolve, as long as we are able to control the calls that are originally intended for Disaster Masters.

Services vs. Products

A service business trademark is unlike a product in that the infringers open telephone numbers and manage to place DISASTER MASTERS in the telephone company yellow pages. Some people manage to get 800 or 888 or 877 Toll Free numbers, which appear across the US and really create confusion in the marketplace as to the rightful owner of this mark. The cure for this is to release these numbers to the management of DISASTER MASTERS so that we can control the quality of this mark for the public.

Case History

DISASTER MASTERS Inc. vs. Recovery Management Inc. U.S. Southern District New York.

For infringers who believe that they may be able to outmaneuver the principals of DISASTER MASTERS we provide herein a case history of a software company based in Massachusetts who adopted the DISASTER MASTERS trademark to identify their only software product, which they named DISASTER MASTER.

When we requested that Recovery Management cease and desist using DISASTER MASTER to identify their software, RM stood fast and decided that they could go to Federal Court and win the case.

Not only did Recovery Management lose, the Honorable Judge Sweet of the United State District Court, Southern District of New York in his OPINION 90 Civ. 2469 RWS awarded Disaster Masters legal fees, plus ordered Recovery Management to pay for corrective advertising for DISASTER MASTERS in all trade journals and also direct mail each of Recovery Management's customers with a notice that Recovery Management had lost the case in the United States Federal Court.

Recovery Management could have avoided this huge expense of time, money and wasted energy with cooperation but they chose to be arrogant and lost. Big time.

Persons wanting these court cases are invited to request it from here.

$50.00 REWARD

If you know of any individual, company or organization that may be using the DISASTER MASTER trademark without our written permission we want to know. As a matter of fact, we will pay a REWARD of $50.00 for information about any company who is using this mark that we have not yet served notice.

Federal Registered Trademarks like DISASTER MASTERS are protected from use by any other company.