Hey Stuart,

Shame about the Wiley notification but we look forward to your new domain name.

Your fans at AustralianBlogs.com.au

Hey Stu (you know I love you)
I always thought that gardening was for dummies (just joshing), maybe it's a sign from above that you should forget about "Eden" and concentrate on the metro look of "concrete". this single mix compound needs no maintanence, is weed and insect resistent, can be colored to match your bricks and can be walked on regardless of the weather without fear of "dirt" in the shoes and have you noticed that dogs don't "do" on concrete? This reason alone should inspire any gardener dissallusioned with their lackk of "green thumb" ability to turn towards the incredible liberty and durability of the "grey" moss. I think I've got some names for your sight domain: Why garden when you can concrete; Grey is a beautiful Color; Save water concrete everything

Stuart, I can't imagine that just a little name change would send you to (or keep you at) the bottom of the pile! Just let us know where to find you, because we'll be looking. :)

Any chance of you selling Wiley the registration?!
Don't let it go!

Stuart, I agree -- this shouldn't put you at the bottom of the pile by any means. Just keep us all posted on the new name, and can't you do an automatic redirect from the old domain name to the new one? I mean, you'll still retain ownership of the old name?

And, while I know this might be out of reach of your legal budget, it occurs to me that there ought to be a way to negotiate with the Wiley Publishing folks -- they allow a six-month redirect or a year redirect, even if they're requiring that they take over your domain name.

And they ought to have to buy it from you.

How irritating...but just keep us posted and we'll find you! You provide a great resource -- I'd hate to miss out on it.

Genie
http://www.theinadvertentgardener.com

Stuart,

I am in the internet marketing biz and, just to be on the safe side, you may want to have a lawyer take a look really quick at their claim.

Many companies send off C&Ds without a leg to stand on, as in, I checked the Trademark Office (http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=af3m6o.1.1) and I could find no such trademark (Gardening For Dummies) by the company.

It happens alot. Big Companies do it just to see if you will roll over without them having to pay for the domain.

You do not need any legal grounds to send a C&D. I could send you one for violating the trademark of my domain, except I don't own the trademark. :)

Anyhoo... Talk to a lawyer before you hand over anything.

Check out http://chillingeffects.org as well for more information on this.

Also, just in case they do have trademark. They may only have it in the US and you are not in the US and may not be effected by a US trademark.

I think something that reflects your gardening PHILOSOPHY and/or gardening ENTHUSIASM rather than an expertise level will work nicely... for a long time.

Btw, I like the Dummies books. They're like primers and I don't take offense at the title. I think it's meant to be funny.

Just keep the name general (i.e. wide reaching) so you don't lock yourself into only writing for beginners. I'm sure your audience includes many avid gardeners.

Thanks guys. I'm definitely feeling the love at the moment.

As for any legal challenge, I'm sorry but I'm just not up for it. There are too many more important things in life and I'd much rather blog or garden than mount a court case.

As I said in my post, I actually think this was a God-send in that I'm able to change a few things (the domain name being the obvious one). I shall set up a redirect and for a time all links will continue to reach my blog.

Angela, you may be a little disappointed in me but my domain name (which will be revealed soon) runs the same lines. I guess my reason for starting a blog in the first place was to help people who were just starting gardening as a hobby. I'm no expert and I have no formal qualifications but I can share what I've learnt along the way.

Anyway, thanks for the support and I look forward to sharing with you all again soon.

This is a bit of a pain for you, isn't it? Whatever you decide to call yourself, we'll be there! You have a great site (several great sites :) Are you still getting too much sleep?:)
I like the Dummies books too. I learned a lot about computers from them. They're easy to read and funny.

Hi Stuart, maybe this will be a platform for bigger and better things.I will link you again with your new domain name, and blog title.
I emailed you before that i liked what you were doing, being a bit controversial at times.But your heart is in the right place.
They say every cloud has a silver lining.So, take good heart, feel the love from the comments, and keep on posting.
You aussies are renowned for being tough in a scrape.Good luck with your name planning...

I'm also wondering what you have done with your original domain name? Will Wiley buy it and for how much? I am thinking you could be a rich man if they are desperate enough!! They make a packet from those 'for dummies' books.

Hey! I found you thru Snappy...to heck with those "wile-e-coyote" types! Your blog is worth more of a read than ANY of their lame books...I always felt put-off by the "dummy" assertion by them, anyhow...I'm NO dummy! It's more appropriate as a self-effacing title for your awesome blog...but we'll find you, no matter what!

I can't beleive that they gave you a hard time about your domain name. Sheesh. Oh well, I will update my link!

Vawz - I'm not allowed to sell it to Wiley because I should never have been allowed to have it in the first place. Their trademark was registered well ahead of my blog domain name.

Lisa - thanks for the support. I'm no longer a dummy either!!!

Nelumbo - Great to have you on board. Thakns for the updated link.