Codepad – The ClassHelper.org™ Blog

I’m proud to note that Linode (my full-time employer) has been the subject of an extensive VPS performance review, and has come out as the clear winner.  For those who don’t already know, a virtual private server (VPS) gives you the power of a dedicated server at a fraction of the cost (a Linode 360 costs $19.95/month).

Linodes are a great platform for educators, parents, and students looking to learn more about Linux and open source software in general. Whether you’re interested in hosting a personal blog or a school website, you don’t have to sacrifice flexibility and performance for price. In fact, ClassHelper.org runs on a Linode, happily serving hundreds of thousands of page views each month without breaking a sweat.

Obviously, some may point out the fact that I’m a bit biased. I’d respond by noting that I was an extremely satisfied customer for over five years prior to joining the Linode team as an employee, and used Linodes to meet the hosting needs of many clients. I can honestly say I’ve never seen another hosting provider come close to the value and quality of support offered here.

We’re pleased to announce the availability of free math crosswords. Although these aren’t crossword puzzles in the strictest sense (the puzzle grid is comprised of numbers), they are solved in the same manner.

To fill in the puzzle, a list of math problems must be solved. If a mismatch in the solution grid is encountered, the solver must double-check the math problems that link to the affected area for accuracy. This is a great way to reinforce math skills. More math crossword categories will be released soon, including algebra puzzles. Have fun!

We hope our community enjoys a safe and happy Independence Day! For all those celebrating with fireworks, please remember to exercise all appropriate safety measures along with adult supervision.

Earlier today, I received an email reply from Bill Sweetman at Tucows (1). Tucows has worked with the company that handles the advertisements displayed on their parked/portfolio domains to disable the automated search algorithm responsible for generating the landing page for “classhelper.com”. My review of the updated landing page shows that it displays generic advertisements that are unrelated to content hosted on ClassHelper.org. Additionally, they have removed the search box from the landing page. These good faith efforts are greatly appreciated, and I feel that they address our present issues with confusingly similar  content.

I understand that our views on this matter have differed from those expressed by Tucows via Mr. Sweetman, and I would like to state our appreciation for the civil (if strained at times) manner in which we’ve been able to communicate. We can’t fault Tucows for taking creative measures to earn revenue, as long as those measures don’t infringe on the rights of others. We’re glad Tucows has chosen to respect our rights, are are pleased with the effect of dramatically reduced confusion on the part of members of our community who seek to utilize our resources but mistakenly type “.com” instead of “.org”.

(1) Tucows is a registered trademark of Tucows, Inc.

(Editor’s note: There is an update to this discussion on a more recent blog post).

As many in the teaching community are already aware, ClassHelper.org has grown to become a respected online provider of educational resources for teachers and parents. We enjoy traffic from over 40,000 visitors per month, which translates into roughly 200,000 pageviews. Our resources are used in school and homes throughout the United States, and we have a growing following in the U.K. and various EU nations.

We claim trademark rights to “ClassHelper.org” in the context of providing educational resources over the Internet. Under United States trademark law, we are afforded both strong legal protections against the unauthorized use of our mark for similar purposes, as well as use of a confusingly similar mark in trade by unauthorized parties. Although it is not necessary to formally register a trademark to enjoy such legal protections, the federal trademark registration application has been filed and is under review for ClassHelper.org.

Over the last few months, we’ve been attempting to work out ongoing issues related to trademark infringement by Tucows, Inc (1) with respect to the domain “classhelper.com”. The core issue is violation of trademark law under the doctrine of using a very close match to a trademarked term in the areas of trade under which the legitimate trademark holder operates. For several months (and as of this writing), navigating to “classhelper.com” results in the following typo-squatted page (or a similarly constructed page):

Typo-squatted domain landing page.

Astute observers will note that the links on this landing page reflect major content categories on ClassHelper.org. These are links for which Tucows is paid advertising revenue, a clear example of leveraging a visitors intention to visit ClassHelper.org unfairly and in violation of trademark law. This landing page didn’t exist before we began building up large volumes on content on ClassHelper.org, and is plainly generated from search results for our site. This serves to illustrate the fact that regardless of when Tucows “acquired” the domain (the previous owner let it expire), they have not made any legitimate use of it since that time, and the ongoing manner in which it is used infringes on our rights.

With respect to this landing page’s traffic, I’m betting I could count on one hand the number of visitors who intentionally naviate to “classhelper.com” instead of ClassHelper.org each month. Incidentally, over the last thirty days 37.7% of the visitors to ClassHelper.org have been direct traffic (according to Google Analytics (2) statistics). That’s over 15,000 visitors.

We’ve asked Tucows to abstain from hosting pages on “classhelper.com” that violate our rights. They’ve declined. We’ve attempted to engage in respectful dialouge with Bill Sweetman, general manager of Tucows’ domain portfolio, to negotiate the purchase of “classhelper.com” for a reasonable price. He’s declined. Throughout this process, Tucows (as represented by Bill Sweetman) has refused to address the core issue of the manner in which they are violating our trademark rights, choosing instead to adopt a policy of hand-waving (see some recent email messages) over details completely unrelated to the assertions we’ve made regarding infringement. This is unfortunate, and clearly not the kind of behavior one would expect of a company that claims to respect copyright and trademark law. (Editor’s note: a reference to Bill Sweetman’s blog has been removed after clarification from him that the post in question referenced an entirely different situation.)

Tucows valuation of their domain is, frankly, ridiculous. I personally own the domains classhelper.org, classhelper.net, and classhelper.info. The domain “classhelper.com” shows zero inbound links in a Google query, has a PageRank of zero, and is completely devoid of any original content. It’s reasonable to assume that the only traffic this page receives is from persons erroneously typing “.com” instead of “.org” for the TLD. Anyone interested in the domain for the commercial promotion of educational resources would have an extremely hard time justifying such a purchase in light of the fact that ClassHelper.org is already a firmly established venue for this market, protected under United States trademark law.

At this stage, it appears that we’ve been left no option but to pursue the matter in the courts. We had hoped for an amicable resolution of the matter whereby Tucows would receive some compensation for the domain, instead of involving attorneys and related expenses. At this stage, and until the legal process is brought to bear on the matter, we are still open to purchasing the domain for the price we offered in prior communications. We sincerely hope that Tucows will re-evaluate their position and “do the right thing” by either removing the infringing content on “classhelper.com” or accepting our offer of purchase.

Sincerely,

Philip C. Paradis

(1) “Tucows” is a registered trademark of Tucows, Inc.

(2) “Google Anayltics” is a registered trademark of Google, Inc.

(3) “SweetMantra” is a trademark of Bill Sweetman.

Happy Easter! We hope you take this opportunity to reflect on faith, family, and friends. You can learn more about the history and meaning of this holiday for people around the globe at the Wikipedia Easter page. For fun, you may want want to try our Easter crosswords or Easter word search puzzles. Have a safe holiday!

This week’s education news roundup brings updates on the efficacy of school voucher programs in D.C., the ongoing legal saga surrounding a university professor, presidential job picks, and the continued impact of recession on education.

Study Supports School Vouchers (The Washington Post) – A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education has found that D.C. students who used vouchers to attend private schools outperformed students at public schools. This has sparked new debate on already controversial voucher programs.

Jury Says Professor Was Wrongly Fired (The New York Times) – A jury has ruled in favor of Ward L. Churchill, a University of Colorado professor who was terminated for statements referring to World Trade Center victims as “little Eichmanns.” The jury awarded the professor $1 in the case, the smallest amount legally permissible in consideration of the verdict. The professor has asked the judge to order his job be reinstated.

Obama Unveils Picks for Key Ed. Dept. Jobs (Education Week) – President Obama has publicly announced two choices for major Department of Education posts, naming John Q. Easton and Martha J. Kanter.

College Grads Face Worst Job Market In Years (USA Today) – With employers planning to hire 22% fewer graduates this spring, many recent college grads are thankful for any job they can get.

Northern Arizona to Lay Off 45, Close 4 Campuses (U.S. News & World Report) – Northern Arizona University has announced plans to lay off 45 employees and close four college campuses amidst the economic turmoil of the recession. Approximately $21 billion has been cut from the university’s budget.

This weeks’s news digest examines zero tolerance laws and the effects they have on children, the Texas evolution battle, federal stimulus money, and how the economy is affecting student university choices. Read the rest of this entry »