My mug was used in a 35 second animation in the show House of the Rising Bun.
I was one of the spice traders ... Spice Trader #1, as it says above!

The first time I met Alton was at the BBQ and Blues Festival in Atlanta, GA
on August 26, 2000. I don't like the Blues and can eat BBQ but am not that
crazy about it. I was just there to see Alton as I was a recent convert at the
time. That's my wife on his right. (Our son was born 17 days later.)

Here's mine. *big grin*


Inscription: To Mike, Thanks for everything! AB

The very cordial letter from the lawyers of FN:

BAKER
&
HOSTETLER LLP
Counsellors at Law
Washington Square, Suite 1100  •   1050 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. •  Washington, D.C. 20036-5304  •  (202) 861-1500
Fax (202) 861-1783
Writer's Direct Dial Number
(202) 861-1688

December 7, 2000

BY FEDERAL EXPRESS

Michael Menninger
[my address]

        Re:  Copyright and Intellectual Property Infringement
               Our reference: 99188-98003                               

Dear Mr. Menninger:

    We represent Television Food Network ("Food Network") with respect to intellectual property matters.

    It has recently come to our attention that you operate a website entitled the "Good Eats' Fan Page" <www.goodeatsfanpage.com>. Although Food Network and the producers of the "Good Eats" series are pleased by the enthusiasm of the show's fans, your particular site incorporates substantial amounts of protected intellectual property owned by Food Network. This property includes, but is not limited to, the verbatim copying of copyrighted recipes, promotional materials, including photographs, and biographical and background information about the "Good Eats" show.

    Use of these materials without the express permission of Food Network constitutes a violation of the United States Copyright Act. Your recent incorporation of a disclaimer, while clarifying, somewhat, the nature of your site, does not correct the intellectual property infringement. In order to protect its rights against those who seek to unfairly profit from Food Network's efforts to promote shows such as "Good Eats", the Network must ensure that no individual or organization uses Food Network's protected material. Unfortunately, this occasionally means that the network must enforce its rights against loyal fans, such as yourself.

    Thus, we must request that you remove any text and other material on your website taken directly from Food Network's Internet site.

    We thank you for your cooperation in this matter

                                                            Very truly yours,
                                                            Ann K. Ford
                                                            Emily C. Sexton

AK: ECS:ns
cc: Willard Stanback, Esq.

My reply

[my address]

December 12, 2000

Ann K. Ford & Emily C. Sexton
c/o Baker & Hostetler, LLP
Washington Square, Suite 1100
1050 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-5304

RE: Copyright and Intellectual Property Infringement Reference #99188-98003

Dear Madams:

Per your request to "remove any text and other material" on my web site, Good Eats Fan Page <www.goodeatsfanpage.com>, that was "taken directly from Food Network's Internet site", I have removed all text, photographs, promotional material, biographical and background information material from my web pages.

I had quite a few pages to rework and I have given it a good faith effort to remove said material. There is the possibility that I might have missed an item. If you find such an example, please do not hesitate to contact me via electronic mail at [email address]. I will make the changes as soon as possible.

I would also like to thank you for a cordial letter and also for explaining the reasoning behind your request. Since I was not planning nor intending to make money from the site and since I was also giving credit to the location where I copied the material, I thought I was within my rights for the postings. Thank you for clarifying the United States Copyright Act. I am glad I can correct this error.

Sincerely,

Michael Agee Menninger

    Well, I broke down and did it. I mean, I'm the self-proclaimed #1 fan aficionado so I had to ask for one, right? It arrived in the mail on December 1, 2000. What a nice Christmas present.
    "No. Thank YOU, Mr. Brown, for your hard work in entertaining our nation."

Hit Counter

Last Edited on 02/01/2007