After Taking Legal Advice...

..I have decided not to sue twitter. Rather, after a long and protracted discussion with them, I will be using the alias "DailyWail".

It is purely coincidental that a W looks like an upside down M....

Read on if you really have nothing better to do with your time...

Request #5377

Submitted Jan 09 11:57 AM by you

Hi

We've received a complaint from a fellow Twitterer. It has come to our attention that your Twitter account:

http://twitter.com/dailymail_uk

is in violation of our basic Terms of Service, specifically article 4 which mentions impersonation:

4. You must not abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate other Twitter users.

In this case "impersonation" is the issue. Impersonation is against our terms of service unless it's parody. The standard for defining parody is, "Would a reasonable person be aware that it's a joke."

To settle this issue we've removed the profile image and changed the user name to "notdailymail_uk" in the full name and username fields in order to eliminate confusion. You can change your real and user names to something else if you'd like:

1. Visit Twitter.com/settings
2. Edit the Full Name and Username fields
3. Click "Save"

Please honor Twitter's Terms of Service accordingly. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Thanks,

Twitter Support

Comments

DailyWail

• Dear Support,

  The account is a parody. I refer you to the following tweets
  http://twitter.com/tripblairattack/statuses/1098805604
  http://twitter.com/Jeffman1/statuses/1106517670
  http://twitter.com/jamesgraham/statuses/1102342754
  http://twitter.com/CliveAndrews/statuses/1097087187
  http://twitter.com/cloggingchris/statuses/1095617869
  http://twitter.com/natts/statuses/1095494128
  http://twitter.com/Lifestyle_Proj/statuses/1101859012

  At least 7 reasonable people think that the account is a parody. I would hope, from reading the tweets, you would also come to the same conclusion.

  Please will you reinstate the account with its original username of @dailymail_uk.

  I would also be grateful if you could furnish me with a copy of the letter purporting to be from Associated Newspapers Limited.

  Many thanks

  DM

Jan-10 2009 11:07 AM.

DailyWail

• I would greatly appreciate a response.

  Many thanks

Jan-12 2009 12:17 PM.

caroline

Twitter

• Hi,

  We are currently having our Terms of Service team
  review your account.

  Cheers,
  Twitter Support

Jan-12 2009 03:06 PM.

DailyWail

• I am still awaiting an update.

  Many thanks

Jan-16 2009 04:01 AM.

caroline

Twitter

• Hi,

  Daily Mail UK is a registered trademark. However, you may continue to post your updates with the user name notdailymail_uk, as long as it's a parody.

  We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

  Cheers,
  Twitter Support

Jan-20 2009 01:24 AM.

DailyWail

• "Daily Mail UK" is *not* a registered trademark.
  A search of the UK Intellectual Property Office (http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-text/) Will find *no* records for "Daily Mail UK".

  Even if it *was* a trademark, your terms of service state
  "Impersonation is against our terms of service unless it's parody."

  As you have clearly seen - the account is a parody which does not use the Dail Mail's trademark.

  Please reinstate the account to its previous name.

Jan-22 2009 03:21 AM.

caroline

Twitter

• Hi,

  Thank you for pointing us to the Daily Mail Community trademark #E7490501, which specifically
  covers digital media:

  Class 09:
  Computer hardware and computer software; computer programs; computer software and hardware to enable searching of data and connection to databases and the Internet; on-line electronic publications; electronic publications (downloadable); electronic newspapers, sections, columns and articles; data storage media; modems; discs; compact discs, tapes, cartridges, wires, cards and filaments, all for bearing encoded programmes for computers; CDs; blue-ray discs and other recordable media; CD-ROMs; DVDs; pre-recorded video tapes and cassettes; digital music (downloadable) provided from the Internet; digital music (downloadable) provided from mp3 Internet websites; video tapes, games and cassettes; computer accessories, screen savers, mouse pads, keyboards, bank cards and debit cards (encoded or magnetic); digital imaging devices and digital signal processors; data-processing equipment and computers; electrical, cinematographic, optical, checking (supervision) and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus for recording, transmission and reproduction of sound and images; magnetic data carriers; recording discs; parts and fittings for all the aforesaid goods.

  As we stated before, you are free to continue posting your updates as a parody account with the user name *notdailymail_uk*. Please honor Twitter's Terms of Service accordingly. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter and consider this matter closed.

  Thanks,
  Twitter Support

Jan-22 2009 07:16 AM.

DailyWail

• I'm sorry to be a bore - but I *was* honouring your terms of service.

  You specifically state "Impersonation is against our terms of service unless it's parody."

  The account is a parody. Therefore I should be allowed to impersonate The Daily Mail.

  I realise I'm hardly in the same league as Tina Fey - but I don't see anyone saying that she's treading on the trade mark of the Governor of Alaska...

  Secondly - while "Daily Mail" is a registered trade mark, "Daily Mail UK" is not. You cannot claim that all suffixes and preffixes are covered - otherwise, "Not Daily Mail UK" is also in violation. If that is the case - why have you given me a name of which you cannot approve?

  DM

Jan-22 2009 09:50 AM.

caroline

Twitter

• Hi,

  Hypothetically speaking, even if we did allow you to use DailyMail_UK we would then receive a legal takedown notice from their solicitors, in which case we will need to comply to Intellectual Property Law in the State of California as well as the United States.

  As we stated before, you are free to continue posting your updates as a parody account with the user name *notdailymail_uk*. Please honor Twitter's Terms of Service accordingly. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter and consider this matter closed.

  Thanks,
  Twitter Support

Jan-22 2009 10:01 AM.

DailyWail

• Absolute final question - I promise :-)

  Can I use the name DailyWail_uk of DailyFail_uk - or will this also result in "issues"?

  Thanks

Jan-23 2009 03:19 AM.

caroline

Twitter

• That's perfectly acceptable. ;)

  Now move along...

  Cheers,
  Caroline

Jan-23 2009 08:52 AM.

The Streisand Effect

Thanks to the wonders of the Streisand Effect I've had another influx of followers.

Especially indebted to all those who have blogged. Including (but not limited to) The Granuaid, Dave Lee, Adam Westbrook, Helen Duffett, Chris Applegate, and the the ever fantastic Enemies of Reason.

Naturally, they will be first against the wall when The Daily Mail takes over the Government through the covert means of distributing obsolete lightbulbs and supporting fascism.

Do You Trust Twitter? Should You?

In response to a pathetic and rather lacklustre piece of "journalism" in the Daily Mail, I created ran a (mildly satirical) twitter account under the name @dailymail_uk

A flurry of tweets and all of a sudden I found myself with over 700 followers. About 6 times more than the "official" Daily Mail twitter. Not bad for a week's work.

A few minor blogs such as PressGazette picked up the "story" of a Daily Mail twitter account and taht - I thought was that. Until...

All of a sudden and with no warning I was locked out of Twitter.

I checked through my email archives. One minute I was receiving email to @dailymail_uk like this...

A scant 45 minutes later, I was receiving emails to @notdailmail_ukI checked, double checked and - for the hell of it - triple checked all my inboxes, labels, spam folders and deleted items. There was no sign of twitter sending me any notification as to when or wherefore they had disabled my account.

Using my 1337 h4x0ring skillz (the "Resend Password" facility") I got back access to my renamed account.

I raised a question at GetSatisfaction - which directed me to raise a support request.

I politely asked them what they were playing at. Here is their reply...

Hello,

We did send out the following notification yesterday. Did you check your spam folder?

We received a letter from the Associated Newspapers Limited, part of Daily Mail & General

Trust Plc, legal adviser. regarding Trademark violation and impersonation.

http://twitter.zendesk.com/tickets/5377 :

Hi

We've received a complaint from a fellow Twitterer . It has come to our attention that your Twitter account:

http://twitter.com/dailymail_uk

is in violation of our basic Terms of Service, specifically article 4 which mentions impersonation:

4. You must not abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate other Twitter users.

In this case "impersonation" is the issue. Impersonation is against our terms of service unless it's parody. The standard for defining parody is, "Would a reasonable person be aware that it's a joke."

To settle this issue we've removed the profile image and changed the user name to "notdailymail_uk" in the full name and username fields in order to eliminate confusion. You can change your real and user names to something else if you'd like:

1. Visit Twitter.com/settings
2. Edit the Full Name and Username fields
3. Click "Save"

Please honor Twitter's Terms of Service accordingly. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Thanks,

Twitter Support

(Emphasis added).
So, the Daily Wail set their lawyers on to Twitter and Twitter - being American - understand neither irony nor sarcasm.

Naturally, I responded to them...

Dear Support,

The account is a parody. I refer you to the following tweets
http://twitter.com/tripblairattack/statuses/1098805604
http://twitter.com/jamesgraham/statuses/1102342754
http://twitter.com/CliveAndrews/statuses/1097087187
http://twitter.com/cloggingchris/statuses/1095617869
http://twitter.com/natts/statuses/1095494128
http://twitter.com/Lifestyle_Proj/statuses/1101859012

At least 6 reasonable people think that the account is a parody. I would hope, from reading the tweets, you would also come to the same conclusion.

Please will you reinstate the account with its original username of @dailymail_uk.

I would also be grateful if you could furnish me with a copy of the letter purporting to be from Associated Newspapers Limited.

Many thanks

I have yet to receive a response.

I am not naive. I know that writing a parody of the litigious bastards at The Daily Mail was likely to land me in a spot of bother. But I rather did think that Twitter might show some backbone or - at the very least - allow me to have my say before they gave away my account.

Next time you log on to your favourite social network - be it Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, or even, god help you, MySpace - ask yourself; how well do you trust the owners?

If the owner of your social network decide to get rid of you - for malicious or incompetant reasons - what recourse would you have...?

Probably none.

Let me repeat that. You do not have any control over your Twitter account, Facebook account or MySpace Page. It can be taken from you at any minute.

The case continues...