A mailing from Full Tilt Poker informed us of Harrah's new trademark guidelines for the 2007 WSOP. Apparently all online poker rooms - and websites that promote online poker rooms - are not allowed to "use the words World Series of Poker or the WSOP acronym in [...] the titles of any websites, pages, press releases, advertisements, or articles." In other words every poker site on the internet cannot report on the World Series of Poker this year.
BTW the acronym WSOP is a registered trademark of Federico Schiavio, and stands for "World's Standard of Online Poker®." Schiavio is also the owner of the domain WSOP.com. Check out that site to read more about the Schiavio-Harrah's lawsuit(s) with regard to the WSOP trademark and domain.
Here's the mailing send by Full Tilt to it's affiliates:
"Specifically, as a Full Tilt Poker affiliate, YOU MAY NOT:
- Use either the WSOP's poker chip logo or stacked logo, or any image of a WSOP bracelet in any of your advertising or in any communications to your players.
- You may not use the words World Series of Poker or the WSOP acronym in the official names or headlines of any contests or promotions you are running on your site, or in the titles of any websites, pages, press releases, advertisements, or articles.
- The words 'World Series of Poker' and the 'WSOP' acronym may not be used more than TWO TIMES EACH PAGE in any written material, whether online or off-line, provided that use is part of a textual sentence.
- All usage of the words World Series of Poker* or WSOP*
must be marked with an ASTERISK (*), and the following disclaimer
must appear on every page where these terms are used, in a location
and type size that is reasonably likely to be seen and read by consumers:
*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLC ("Harrah's"). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, ________ [company name] or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.
For more information on the trademark usage guidelines, please download http://dps.twiihosting.net/wsop/doc/content/doc_591_146.pdf"