This website is published under a Creative Commons license that allows for non-commercial use, provided there is attribution.  Commercial use and derivative works are prohibited.

It was brought to my attention that a website named Bloglines was reproducing the Trademark Blog, surrounding it with its own frame, stripping the page of my contact info.  It identifies itself as a news aggregator.  It is not authorized to reproduce my content nor to change the appearance of my pages, which it does.  In response to my inquiry to Blogline’s CEO as to whether they sell advertising, he indicated that they ‘are not currently running advertising.’  Nevertheless, the Blogline’s home page currently is soliciting ‘targeted advertisements.’  I would also assume that Blogline is accumulating commercially-useful mailing lists (its privacy policy appears to allow it to sell information).  The privacy policy also has a provision entitled ‘mergers and acquisitions’ clearly allowing it to sell its lists.

Thus, in my view, Bloglines’ reproduction of my site is a commercial derivative work.  Bloglines has agreed to remove my site from its service and I thank it in advance for its cooperation.

I create content in part to promote my law firm, which I cannot do effectively if my contact info is removed.  I do not participate in targeted advertising programs because the majority of advertisers that target the keyword ‘trademark’ are competitors.  I cannot prevent such advertising when my page is reproduced and ‘framed’ by a third party. 

For the 190 of you who subscribe to this site through Bloglines, I apologize for any inconvenience, but I think that you will still find my site easily accessible, here. 

If anyone desires the convenience of being notified only when this blog (or most any blog) is updated, then I recommend subscribing to one of the many RSS programs available.