Quality Assurance Program for Hair Transplant & Hair Replacement

Art Robinson is an African American hair salon owner in Herndon, VA. He owns and operates Sheldeez Beauty Salon. He also retails products in his salon and through his website http://www.sheldeez.com

One of the many product lines that Sheldeez sells is Kera Care, a product line as you probably know that is manufactured by Avlon Industries an Illinois Corporation. As a means of informing more potential customers that they could purchase Kera Care on-line Art registered the domain name keracare.com. This substantially increased Sheldeez sales of Kera Care and gave Kera Care an International reach that it had not enjoyed before. Art thought that Avlon would be delighted by his new increased level of purchases and perhaps consider a more extensive relationship with him. Particularly since their corporate policy as you probably know is not to sell directly to the public and he was bringing their products to people who couldn't get them otherwise. He was mistaken.

Since August 2000, Avlon Industries (holders of a trademark on the word keracare) has demanded that Art relinquish the domain name unconditionally. That he give them the domain name for nothing. Over this time Sheldeez has developed a significant on-line business selling Kera Care products. A business and income stream that he has cultivated and would be delivering to anyone that he gave the domain name to.

Because Art believes that he has every right to the domain name, (he is a legal and lawful seller of Kera Care hair products) he refused Avlon's demand. He did however suggest that they enter into some sort of compromise. He at one point agreed to give Avlon all of the domain names that they wanted. In return all he asked was that they include him in an existing list of salons where you could purchase Kera Care. Even this symbolic compromise was rejected. He felt as if this was the least they could do considering he held the domain names they so desired. They wanted the unconditional return period. Never mind that Art had created an international reach and distribution for their products, that he purchases the products from their distributors, putting money in their pockets, that before he registered the domain name that persons typing in keracare.com got nothing. Now they get a legal and lawful place to purchase Kera Care products.

On May 16, 2001 Art received troubling news. The corporate owner of the products that he had recommended to his customers had sued him for the domain name keracare.com

The law is not clear as to whether holding a trademark automatically entitles you to the corresponding domain name. When you have some time please view these cases where the trademark owner lost the case. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-113813.html http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-346433.html?tag=bplst

No matter what your thoughts are on who is entitled to the domain name, you must agree that Avlon's next action were underhanded. When it became clear that Art would fight the lawsuit and would not relent . Avlon through phone calls and letters to it's distributors asked it's distributors not to sell to Art or anyone from Sheldeez. This is illegal, unfair, and warrants a lawsuit of it's own for interference with a legal enterprise. They sued him that's one thing but to use these illegal tactics is another. To interfere with a legal enterprise before a matter is litigated is against the spirit of American Business. For what reason would Avlon do this? If Art has no access to their products he can't sell them, can't make money, has less money to defend himself. There is a federal law in this country called the first sale doctrine. It says that once you've sold a product to anyone you have no say so in who they sell it to. Everyone in this country is due the same chance at prosperity. The matter is in the courts it should be settled there.

Far too often businesses, small businesses, get financially ruined by large corporations like Avlon Industries because they have more resources. Small sole proprietorships on the rise like Sheldeez even though they are right cannot afford to be right.

If you disagree with this assault on fair play in business please sound off to Avlon Industries in opposition to this travesty with the following person:

Ali Syed, President-Avlon

You may e-mail them at marketing@avlon.com

You may call them at 1-800-332-8566,1-800-33avlon, or 1-800-556-7101

If you know of a media outlet that would find this story newsworthy. Please let me know. If you would like to review the filings in the case, please click the links below. If you would like more information you can e-mail Art Robinson at art@sheldeez.com. You can call him at (703)309-5557

Lawsuit Filed By Avlon Industries Motion to Dismiss Filed By Defense Motion For Discovery Filed By Avlon

Motion to Reconsider Filed by Defense Motion For Discovery Filed by Avlon

Defense Response to Plaintiffs Opposition

Any comments, please use Misc  forum below.

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