Sorry guys, in this case, it doesn’t work that way.

A nonowner may also use a trademark nominatively—to refer to the actual trademarked product or its source. In addition to protecting product criticism and analysis, United States law actually encourages nominative usage by competitors in the form of comparative advertising.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use_%28U.S._trademark_law%29

The Lanham Act permits a non-owner of a registered trademark to make “fair use” or “nominative use” of a trademark under certain circumstances without obtaining permission from the mark’s owner. The fair use and nominative use defenses are to help ensure that trademark owners do not prohibit the use of their marks when they are used for the purpose of description or identification. Fair use or nominative use may be recognized in those instances where a reader of a given work is clearly able to understand that the use of the trademark does not suggest sponsorship or association with the trademark owner’s product or services and therefore is not being used in a manner to confuse the reader.

http://www.publaw.com/fairusetrade.html

Unlike most statutory fair use cases, nominative fair use involves the descriptive use of the plaintiff’s mark to describe or identify the plaintiff’s goods or services. While decided as a statutory and/or common law fair use case, WCVB-TV v. Boston Athletic Ass’n., 926 F.2d 42 (1st Cir. 1991), is more logically a nominative fair use case, although decided before the Ninth articulated the defense and coined the term. This case involved the use of the registered trademark BOSTON MARATHON by a television station in connection with its coverage of the running event. WCVB-TV had displayed the words “Boston Marathon” on the screen before, during, and after their coverage of the actual marathon. The First Circuit found that the fair use defense was properly asserted, reasoning that the trademark was used primarily in a descriptive manner. Because of the “timing, meaning, context, intent, and surrounding circumstances,” there was no likelihood of confusion. The court concluded that without allowing others to use the term “Boston Marathon,” it would be virtually impossible to describe the Boston Marathon.

http://www.cll.com/articles/trademark-parody-statutory-and-nominative-fair-use-under-the-lanham-act#NOMINATIVE%20USE%20AS%20FAIR%20USE

The facts are these:  I posed naked with my Nintendo DSi. I stated as a description FOR the promotional gallery for my affiliates, that it was a Nintendo DSi. My affiliates used this terminology because it is in fact a Nintendo DSi in the photos with me. The company going after people states the following:

Re: BLOG NAME REMOVED

IDENTIFIED PROBLEM: Web site uses a Nintendo trademark (Nintendo) in
the code of the page.

Dear Moniker Privacy Services,

We are an Internet monitoring agency representing Nintendo of America
Inc. (“Nintendo”). We are writing to ask you to stop using the Nintendo
properties in the hidden text/visible text/meta tags and/or title and/or
links of the above-referenced sexually explicit Web site. Nintendo’s
customers include many children and their parents. Unauthorized use of
Nintendo trademark(s)/work(s) is harmful to those customers and will
tarnish Nintendo’s reputation.

We look forward to your immediate confirmation that you have taken the
necessary steps to resolve this matter. To that end, you may email us at
StopInfringement@cyveillance.com.

Please note that these are automatic email boxes so typically no
response is sent as long as the problem is corrected.

Sincerely,
Cyveillance

Um. No. I don’t give a shit if Jesus himself surfs the web looking for a Nintendo DSi — the simple fact of the matter is that not ONLY are my affiliates in the right but I am in the right for instructing them to use the phrase in the first place. It’s describing the object in the photo. Deal with it Nintendo. You’d be pitching a goddamn fit if I put it down as some other console, so take the publicity and move on about your lives. I promise, you’ll be less like tools if you do.

Btw, a couple of the photos mentioned are right through this link: http://www.geekgirlsonline.net/hosted/athenahollow4/ (OBVIOUSLY NOT SAFE FOR WORK!)

Also, another example of how Nintendo is being rediculous, is pointed out by our friends over at KinkyGamer. I was talking to the owner about the whole situation and here’s what he had to say:

It appears to be related to the below picture of Athena from Geek Girls Online enjoying her DS while nude. The funny thing is, they did not seem to have a problem with a barely dressed girl playing the Wii Fit on youtube which got millions of views immediately following the release of the Wii Fit.

[Read the Full Post] (Also Not Safe For Work)

Yea……. off that cross Nintendo.

BTW, for those who aren’t aware, we are still running a 15% discount on all design services until August 31st, so hurry. We just finished with Indigo Fiasco’s site, as well as KinkyArtGirl.

Any who, back to the tasks at hand. I was quite thrilled when Garnet messaged me asking if I would consider being an interviewee for her Ethical Pornography series on Pop My Cherry Review. I was honestly a bit nervous. I didn’t want to come off as a complete know it all, but I certainly didn’t want to sound like a noob. I know my answers to most of her questions were a little winded, but I honestly tried cutting them down, and I seemed to miss my point every time. So I caved and sent off the first answers that came to my head haha.  Balsy thing to do, but when you are honest, there’s no need to have someone proofread your replies.

As some of you know, Garnet and I go a ways back. She was my first photographer for EroticBPM, the first site I ever applied to. I still love the sets we did and wish we’d had time to get together for more before she moved to the west coast, last week.

You can read the interview over at Pop My Cherry Review

——————————

In other news, I *finally* got around to shooting a set for my site. YAY! It was shot on the fly, because I didn’t get a chance to do what I was HOPING, but fun none the less.

More after the cut

Sign up at MissAthenaHollow.com for instant access to 6 and a half hours of amateur geeky, sexy videos and more than 1500 photos including myself and featured models!

I keep my nose clean, my models love me, my fiance & daughter love me, my fans and customers love me. Even my web design clients <3. You know why? Because I take care of them the best that I can.

As for the models: I may not give them cash, but I try to give them something more: financial stability and independence. Whether they use their sites for pay sites or random blogs with sponsor affiliate links, they have the potential to make much more than the average alt porn site pays models for 3 photo sets or videos. And this makes me happier with my life than anything else can.

Have there been dissatisfied girls? I’m sure there have, though I couldn’t tell you the last time I received a negative email, it’s been that long. Same with customers: I’ve only ever had 2 chargebacks and both were attributed to affiliates scamming me, not someone actually charging back the monthly fee because there was a problem with the site.

When I receive an email because someone is having a problem, I get on it the second I receive the email. Obviously, I do sleep and sometimes I have to leave to go to the store, but absolutely every problem that’s ever arisen has been fixed asap. I don’t think it’s ever been more than a couple hours and I normally compensate them extra for hanging in there.

You can ask anyone on the forum, or any of the models who have their contact info listed on their profiles: I do my damndest to make sure GGO is always in running order, so they have somewhere to feel ‘at home’.

So to those (two or three) naysayers out there, kiss my ass. I know I do a damn good job taking care of mine, maybe you should all be doing the same.

Apparently GeekGirlsOnline (listed as geekgirlsonline.net and not .com… someone got their shit totally crooked) is one of the 10 WORST alt porn sites to work for. Really? Are you fucking kidding me? Because we don’t offer cash we are one of the WORST sites to work for? That’s the best you can come up with??

I’m absolutely appalled and even more baffled that someone who has NO TIES TO THE INDUSTRY AT ALL except MAYBE the occasional consumer (I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d never paid for porn in his life) has the audacity to say we’re a terrible site when we offer more than just a quick buck.

As many of you know, we offer paysites and website design in exchange for a VERY small amount of photos. Websites out there pay around $40-80 on average for 100-150 VERY HIGH QUALITY WELL SHOT PHOTOS. How are we faulted for attempting to help models do more than just earn one payment?

Not only this, but the blatant lies stated about eroticbpm are so absurd that it’s almost laughable. I have never in the entirety of my 7 years in the adult industry, heard a single bad thing about eroticbpm. There’s a damn good reason I’ve stuck around there this whole time: because Scott treats his models splendidly and the members love him too.

So, I would like to ask who the sources are for all this tripe being spewn about the internet? I have a sinking feeling I know the ONE AND ONLY PERSON who has EVER said these things, is behind the curtain somewhere, feeding lies to the masses as only he knows best.

I am hence forth BOYCOTTING the ‘Veracity of Porn’ community. You have no grounds for the statements you are attempting to make and therefor I call bullshit. Until you can prove to me that you got your information from models themselves, and not a bullshit artist of which I can prove is a hypocrite and blackmailing asshole, I will do my best to make sure the world knows that you have nothing but crap to back up your supposed intentions.

So sign up today and see all 10 minutes of this fun, sexy video ^_^

And don’t forget about the cam broadcast on EroticBPM Saturday night!

And while you’re at it, check out one of my first sets to ever go live on the net!

So of course, I had to do a shoot with it

I’ve been experimenting with different spots around my house as well as playing with lighting on the camera, and this is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to shoot for now. I have only done the one set on this chair (and honestly it needs fixed soon!) but I love the contrast of the red against the dark green behind it. And the lighting wasn’t bad either!

See the full set @ MissAthenaHollow.com nao!

& see more preview pics after the break

Once a month, I will be putting up a set from a “Featured Model” with a mini bio and a link to her site.

I am looking more for amateur models who run their own single or multi-girl sites, but am willing to work with just about anyone who has alt or geeky models (REAL geeks, not “I put on a pair of glasses and now I’m a geek” type geeks).

It would be a set for set exchange (with all 2257 records included of course). I am looking for photo sets that are 50+ pictures. It doesn’t have to be exclusive (as my sets wouldn’t be exclusive). This is just a way to help each other out with content, and cross-promote similar sites.

If anyone is interested, feel free to send me an email to athena@missathenahollow.com with some photos and a little about the girl. I would like a real write-up from the girl, if she is not the one sending the email, instead of a pre-gen that is total BS.

Vivian has recently started her own blog on Livejournal that features everything from Model Exclusives to talks about sex and everything in between

I’m delighted to bring you our very first Model Exclusive, hopefully just one of a series of interviews with altporn models. This week’s is with Athena Hollow, founder of GeekGirlsOnline and more recently her own personal site, MissAthenaHollow. This interview, like all future ones, is exclusive to Vivian Winters’ blog and was conducted by yours truly!

How did you pick your modeling name?
Well, mine was actually my stage name in my first band, my freshman year of high school. Our name was Hollow Minds (then turned to Hollow Faith). My friends told me I needed a stage name to go with it and suggested Athena because they always came to me for advice and I always had their backs, no matter what the circumstance.

Read the full interview!

So! What’s gone down in internet land lately? OH! There’s a new site I wanna tell everyone about. It’s called Home for Lost Boys. It’s ran by GeekGirlsOnline’s very own Rinoa and features some very pretty boys!

This is what she has to say about her sexy new site!

Beautiful, alternative, men.

http://www.homeforlostboys.com

Home for Lost Boys launched May 22nd, 2009, but has been in the making since July 2008. It is a result of Lady Murasaki, the webmistress’s frustration at being unable to find pictures of pretty, alternative men. All that was available on the internet seemed to be overly muscled men or disturbingly twinky boys, neither of which suited her interests.

At Home for Lost Boys, we aim to bring erotic, artistic, and playful photo sets of beautiful, alternative and unique boys. The site is primarily run by women, and welcomes anyone who is looking for something more than the typical, boring guy!

We are also recruiting models and want to bring together boys who aren’t your cookie-cutter mainstream types and carve a place for them on the internet. We want our models to be seen as real people with real personalities.  We strive to be an outlet for their self-expression and are looking for models who have a unique look and sense of style.

I even encouraged a good friend (with benefits) to apply to the site, and last I heard, he was accepted (yay Meishial!).  So go check it out! NAO!

From porn to smokes…. Blu omg, omg Blu. Greatest…. Invention… EVAR! Super techno nerds that smoke will love this thing. It’s an electronic cigarette that’s phenominal! I wholly endorse (and use) these things! They are awesome. You can smoke them on planes, in government offices, at work, EVERYWHERE! It’s just a nifty concoction of liquid nicotine, propelyne glyccol *(which has been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of upper respiratory infection and pneumonia)*, water and flavor.  You inhale like a normal cigarette, and the airflow causes the battery to start the atomizer, which turns the liquid into vapor and VOILA! Nicotine straight into the lungs without the nasty shit like tar and other icky carcinogins!

Is it a “stop smoking aid”? No. It’s an alternative to cigarettes. A less dangerous one, most definitely. But you be the judge! I give it a 20/10 as far as rating goes

Last but not least, GeekGirlsOnline is starting a new annual tradition! Geeky Scavenger Hunt baby! That’s right! We’re getting everyone involved in this thing. It’s fun, totally dorky and offers the promise of free porn, and swag. Where could you go wrong.

From the June 2009 GeekZine:

From now until June 30, 2009 GeekGirlsOnline is running a Scavenger Hunt.

We have spent the past few months trying to come up with new ways to help get the word out about GeekGirlsOnline, and finally realized that we couldn’t think of any porn sites that had run a real scavenger hunt! They were fun as a kid, and this will be even more fun as an adult. Scouring the world and the internet for geeky images and videos, everything from girls gaming to cosplay. We have a pretty comprehensive list of 30 items, places, and people that will have you searching for weeks! So join in! All over the age of 18 are encouraged to participate. The winner will receive a 6 month membership to GeekGirlsOnline.com, a GGO TeeShirt, stickers and a poster featuring some of the GGO Models. Come on, a game with the end goal of geeky porn? What’s to lose!

Check out this month’s GeekZine for the full list of rules and of course, the clues. Now’s the time to spread the word of Geeky Porn to the masses!