Vj name issues

[VJ Nexus]

Here is my problem. Those of you that know me know that i've been vj'ing for quite a long time. I go by Vj NeXus, and have been since 2000. There is someone else in Spain who has been using the same name for a few years now, and refuses to acknowledge that I have been using it for longer. When I asked him nicely to stop, he told me to f*** off.

What would you guys do? Legally, the only way I can stop him (being out of my country) would be to trademark my name as a service mark in both my country (USA) and any other country i wish to protect it in - costing over $300 usd per country.

The reason it bothers me more now than before is because now his videos are starting to come up on youtube on google with a search for vj nexus. I've worked very hard to establish myself, and hate for this guy to get credit for my work - or for people to think that i did the videos he is showing which is nothing like my style.

I'm sorry if this comes off as rude or selfish, but i hope you all understand... what should i do?

[miau]

Well it's sad, but there isn't anything you can do. The story you tell describes very well spanish people, unfortunately! Not all spanish are this way, I have good spanish friends and that not all are like this, but there are a lot of others story like that.
Maybe you should put a description about on your videos post!
Good Luck!

[bart]

Yeah this is a difficult situation. Well, it,s actually an easy one if you are willing to invest some money into it. You could register your trademark in the US and Europe and then hire a lawyer to make sure he stops using your name. But yeah that will cost you, and give you a lot of negative stress.

So the internet and all this global communicating is not always a good thing. If there was no internet this would never be a problem, you work in the US and he in Spain. You each operate in your own local market and would probably never even know about it. And if you would ever meet you,d probably drink a beer together and slap each other on the back

Good luck, and let us know what your,re going to do!

[Edited on 19-2-2008 by bart]

[therandelman]

hi there nexus!
i am sceptical, that registering your name as a trademark would be worth the money and stress. further more, i doubt, that the spanish nexus is real competition to you, is he? at least not, when it comes to playing gigs at local clubs, etc.

but if you want to make sure that you are recognized in the international online community, you could try other strategies, something like marketing guys would call "creating brand awarenss" i guess....

you could point out on your website and in some clips of your visuals, that there is only one original vj nexus and stuff like that.... if people want vj nexus, make sure they get the real thing!
"I am stuck on Band-Aid brand, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me." if you know what i'm trying to say....
maybe spreading some free footage with inserts which explain, who you are and why there is only one real vj nexus.... or ask a fellow vj in the spanish community, if he/she owuld be so kind to feature a premixed set of yours and promote your name....
contact clubs in your conpetitor's area and sent out free premixed dvds of yours, and dont forget a recognizeable watermark...
registering various domains (spanish ones as well!) would help as well, as registering myspace- and youtube-channels, facebook accounts, etc. and would be a much cheaper, than registering a trademark...
i am not an marketing expert, but i am sure there are funny little things you could do, to make your name more of a brand, than his.

...or you just forget about it and go for bart's beer-strategy!
cheers,
trm