No Mister Bond, I expect you to die...

Gaia, The Non-Blonde posted an interesting article about perfumer Liz Zorn getting heat from Niche perfumer Bond No 9. Bond is a New York based niche house with about 70 or so perfumes in signature star-shaped bottles. Liz Zorn is an Ohio-based perfumer who I believe is not carried by any department stores. Bond No 9 has a scent called "The Scent of Peace". Liz Zorn had a scent called "Peace on Earth". Apparently, Bond feels that they own the word "Peace" when applied to scent and sent off a nasty "cease and desist" letter to Ms. Zorn. Oddly, they seem to not have gone after Bath and Bodyworks or Kenzo for their fragrances with "peace" in the name.

This sort of corporate bullying goes on all the time, of course, and the companies that do this sort of thing do so partly because they have to; otherwise it could be construed as letting go of the right to sue for actual infringement of legitimate copyrights. Of course that sort of behavior leads to this sort of crap, which basically comes across as medium-sized Goliath stomping all over a little David, and that sort of thing must not be supported; you won't be reading any Bond reviews out of me any time soon

I will not be buying any either...

image from truth booth online

It just gets sillier...

I don't know if it's an attempt towards a PR cleanup (beacuse of the gazillions of you who read this blog and the deadly power that I wield..) but comments are coming in, first from a "NY Perfumista" which was deleted, not doubt because of Gaia's latest post, then from Bond No. 9 themselves. Just in case they decide once more to delete the comment I will include it here:

"In response to standard actions regarding a Bond No. 9 trademark infringement, Ms. Zorn has personally waged war on us by Internet and by telephone.

For the information of those who support her based on these postings, etc., we thought it only fair to publish the following document. While waging said war, she sent this letter to the attorneys of Bond No. 9, declaring her “peaceful” resolution. She has, in essence, committed the very offense to which she claims (without merit) Bond No. 9 has affronted her.

Bond No. 9 is a small, entrepreneurial company run by one woman who spends a lot of time and money protecting it—her life’s work—and the scope of this company includes her trademarks. As a small business owner, and given the significant portion of her budget required to secure the names and phrases that are essential to the success of her business, she strongly defends them all.

The creative spirit of Bond No. 9 is copied every day by various companies, large and small, and we protect our rights in all cases. Laurice encourages everyone to be creative and to protect their ideas.

Two Springs ago she had the idea to launch a Peace fragrance at the United Nations and donate to UNICEF for that first year. Since 2007, the donations have been to Seeds of Peace (http://seedsofpeace.org), and Laurice continues to donate for Peace. The Scent of Peace is a top selling fragrance which allows us to donate a large amount of money to charity, and we're very pleased"

You can read my response in the comments section, but here's the gist: you have a right to sue, Ms Bond. In the judicial system in this country one can sue for anything. You can also get laughed out of court, as Fox had happen to them when they tried to quash Al Franken. Some actions make one look petty. This is one. Learn from it. Donating "a large amount of money to charity" doesn't make it any prettier, or any more acceptable. Sorry.