Illegal Use of Our
Federally Registered Business Name

Lisa Marie Castellino, using the Pawsitive Energy business name in San Mateo, California,
has been notified repeatedly regarding her illegal use of our federally registered business name.
In April, after several emails, Lisa agreed to change the name (see below), but, as of June
16, 2009, she has taken no further action and has not responded to follow up email.

Please be advised of Lisa's unprofessional behavior and unethical business practices
before hiring her to care for your animals.

Our Correspondence

I am the owner of Pawsitive Energy, LLC®. (Registration number 3552619)
We began using the name in commerce and online in 2002, applied for federal
registration in 2007, and received federal registration in 2008. In addition to
the dog care business, Pawsitive Energy® is an online educational resource
and an on-site training center working to establish a national reputation
promoting holistic and humane animal care. The business also supports
The Spay/Neuter Incentive Project & Sanctuary, Inc, "snips at Pawsitive Energy®,"
our large non-profit dog rescue and sanctuary, and does fundraising capitalizing on
the Pawsitive Energy® name recognition.

To protect the identity of the business and to avoid any confusion regarding our relationship
or services, I must respectfully request that you cease and desist your use of the Pawsitive Energy® name.

Per the Lanham Act: (1) section 32 (also known as section 1114) and, (2) section
43(a) (a/k/a section 1125(a).

Search "Pawsitive Energy" at the U.S. Patent and Trademark site.

Sincerely,
Lori Stewart Price
Pawsitive Energy®

lisa marie castellino pawsitive energy dog walking service san mateo california
To whom it may concern,
At the time I registed the name of my business in San Mateo County, it was allowed because no one else had this name in San Mateo County. I understand that you are an online educational service. That is completely different than the services I offer.

I regret to inform you that I will not cease and desist from operating my business under that name.

Sorry.
Lisa Marie Castellino

Lisa,
As I noted, we are a dog care business, trademarked in 2002.
We applied for federal registration in June of 2007, six months prior to
the date you opened your business. As a business owner, you should be
aware that any registration in your state is irrelevant in federal trademark
infringement. You should also be aware that, as a business owner, you were
responsible for doing a search of trademarks prior to opening your business.
If you had, you would have seen that the name was taken and this issue could
have been avoided.

We are the first "Pawsitive Energy" listed in any search, so I'm sure you were
well aware that the name was in use, and it would not have been difficult to
determine that registration was in process.

The precise purpose of registering the trademark was to prevent businesses
such as yours from using our name, so we will pursue this through our attorney.
This will involve legal fees which we will recover from your business. We have been
through the process, so we know what the outcome will be. Federal trademark law
is very clear in these situations.
Lori Stewart Price
Pawsitive Energy®lisa marie castellino pawsitive energy dog walking service san mateo california
Lori,
I did do a search. Pawsitive Energy was available at the time I put in for my ficticious business name statement. I will see what I can do about pulling the name so it's yours exclusively.

May I ask where you found my information? I do not want to get into a legal dispute as I am
a very understanding, fair and professional business owner. I will let you know what I find out from the county of san mateo about releasing that name.
Lisa Marie Castellino

Lori,
Have you contacted these people who are using your name as well? http://www.pawsitivenergy.com/ <http://www.pawsitivenergy.com/> , http://www.pawsitive-energy.net/ <http://www.pawsitive-energy.net/> .

I am also in California, so I don't see why you would single me out since I am in a different state.
Lisa Marie Castellino

Lisa,
Owners of registered marks are required to "police" the use of the mark, so I do periodic searches.

I think I first found you when setting up a Twitter account, and then did some searching.
Unfortunately, we can't pick and choose who we contact, so I have to contact every business owner who started using the name after June 2007, and then pursue legal action against those who do not voluntarily agree to change their name. If I don't, going through the registration process was an expensive waste of time, and we stand to lose our trademark.

San Mateo County can only regulate business names in your county. They are not required to research federal trademark issues, which obviously trump any state or local regulations.
Since we have a ® and not just a TM, basically no one else in the country can use the Pawsitive Energy name for any type of dog related business.

Just so you know, almost 100% of what we make through the business supports our 80
animal rescue and sanctuary. For the past 17 years, I've been taking in "unadoptable" dogs, and rehabilitating them for adoption or for a life here. If it weren't for them - and trying to find ways to support them - we wouldn't have even pursued trademark registration.

Thank you for your cooperation.
Lori

To whom it may concern,
I have been contacted by my daughter in law about your cease and desist order. For your information about Calif. law, she is listed as a sole proprietor with her county, as per Calif. law.On further investigation(google) there seems to be quite a few other (Pawsitive Energy) business's. Are you pursuing these other company's as well? .Your business is in Ohio, my daughter in law's business is in Calif. As a precaution, I will write the other listed business's on google, to see if you have asked anyone else to refrain and desist.I would hope that you would not be singling out my daughter in law for some type of malicious intent. At this time,I would like to ask of you, to please stop with your request to refrain and desist,if you do not wish to, I will feel it necessary to take further action, which may involve state and federal police involvement, because this is transpiring over the internet. So I ask of you, please, stop with the demands. If there is any questions, or you would like to have your attorney get in touch with my legal dept., please call 650-834-7153. Ask for David. Thank You.

David,
Since you are not involved in the business, and Lisa is an adult perfectly capable of handling her own business and legal affairs, I have no reason to deal with you. I will continue to pursue the cease and desist order against Lisa. If she does not voluntarily comply, the next step is a lawsuit in federal court, which I have discussed with my attorney and fully intend to pursue.

Do not contact me again.
Lori Stewart Price
Pawsitive Energy®

Lori,
I'll be changing the name of my business to comply with your request. See below.
Lisa Marie Castellino
Pawsitive Nrg
License #103986
21 April 2009

As of June 17, 2009
Lisa has not made this change in her business name,
and attempts to contact her have gone unanswered.

lisa marie castellino pawsitive energy dog walking pet sitting animal care service san mateo california

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