Snakeman/Snakebusters wins $9,900 payout after IP breach.

Snakeman/Snakebusters gets a $9,900 payout for IP breach.
Media release 3 June 2010.

This week, Australia's Snakeman, Raymond Hoser got a cash payout of $9,900 after commencing legal proceedings over an IP (Intellectual Property) breach. IP includes trademarks, trademarked phrases used to identify a business, copyright and the like.
The legal action commenced after a group started defaming Hoser and his Snakebusters business, including knowingly and deliberately making the false and defamatiory claim that Hoser's world-first devenomized snakes had regenerated venom and were now "dangerous" and a risk.
With an inferior business without devenomized snakes being promoted instead, Hoser sought to correct the false claims that were being widely disseminated and causing his business and reputation to be harmed. After the perfectly reasonable requests were denied, Hoser commenced legal action.
The cash settlement was accepted by Hoser as a means to bring potential court battles to a stop. Had the matter gone to court, Hoser would probably have won ten times the amount (minus the legal costs), however today Raymond Hoser said "The court case would have distracted us from our world-leading reptile education and we would prefer to engage in this without time wasted elsewhere".
This is the third recent cash payout to Raymond Hoser/Snakebusters for infringements of his trademarks and the like. One was for $39,500 after a novice snakehandler called Bruce George used the Hoser trademark "Snakebuster" and the other being for $9,000 for another breach.
Hoser and his companies owns and uses a number of coveted trademarks and phrases, including Snakeman, the snake man, Snakebusters and variants, and these phrases identify the following:

1 - His verifiable superior experience in reptiles as opposed to other inexperienced and recently licenced reptile demonstrating companies,
2- The fact that his company is the only one that does "hands on reptiles" that allows people to hold the animals as opposed to touch only, and
3 - That Snakebusters are the only legal venomous snake show in Victoria, because Snakebusters alone is guaranteed safe and fully in compliance with Section 32 of the OH and S Act 2004, because Snakebusters are alone with vet certified, microchipped surgically devenomized snakes in accordance with state law.
In a warning to others, Hoser today announced, "If any other company or agent (including shows, events, malls, schools or the like) uses our trademarks, or acts in a way that may cause confusion in the marketplace to promote an infererior inexperienced reptile show or similar, we will not hesitate to take action against them or anyone else who is a party to infringing or diluting our IP (trademarks, etc) built up over the last thirty years. Snakeman Raymond Hoser today said, "We have acted with the highest of ethics over the last 30 years and are mortified that some fly-by-night operators have chosen not to.
We would prefer that newer entrants in the reptile education business raised their standards and acted within the law, thereby allowing us not to worry about having to take legal action for breaches." In another recent development, aggrieved customers commenced action last month against a newly licenced snakehandler who had been illegally doing venomous snake shows and supposedly accredited venomous snake handling courses for the last 18 months.
While Snakebusters/Raymond Hoser have had no part to play in these (currently ongoing) proceedings, warnings against this particular operator had been issued by Snakebusters/Raymond Hoser over the past 2 years and remain on the Snakebusters and "Smuggled.com" websites. These warnings against this and other snakehandlers were issued following false and defamatory statements made against Snakebusters by this newly licenced operator in a bid to steal business from Snakebusters.
In light of this recent development, it is worth noting that the only legal venomous snake show in Victoria remains Snakebusters. Besides the obvious safety risks inherant in any other show with snakes that are not devenomized, people who allow such to take place will also be liable for prosecution under work safety laws, even if a bite incident does not occur.
It is also common knowledge that reptile displays without venomous snakes fail to attract crowds anywhere near those that have venomous snakes, which is one reason why some of the fly-by-night operators are taking risks and illegally demonstrating these snakes..
Further Information at: Snakebusters:
Phones: 03 9812 3322
0412 777 211
0411 959 455

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Click here to return to the "smuggled.com"/Snakebusters legal statement

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