Not content with taking stories that Hispanic journalists have already published and passing them off as exclusive, and THEN sending emails to Hispanic journalists asking to be credited with stories that EVEN this blog had already published… It seems that The Politico now also claims they own the Spanish language…

(Not to be confused with Latin)

So here is the latest round…

The Politico has forced La Política, an online newsletter dedicated to Hispanic political topics, to change its name because with all their millions they apparently can’t handle the existence of an online magazine that covers topics they completely ignore… even if their name is in Spanish…

The exchange in PDF form

And in copy-paste form…

A Letter From The Publisher

Dear Reader:

Faced with a trademark legal challenge and protracted litigation by the publishers of the newspaper and website ¨Politico,¨we have reluctantly chosen to change the name of our publication, from“La Política” to “CandidatoUSA.”

The publishers of Politico – launched in January by Washington D.C.-based Allbritton Communications, also owners of seven ABC television affiliates and three other news channel outlets – claim La Politica infringes on their trademark.

The name change odyssey began,without our knowledge, on July 11when Jim VanderHei, Politico’s co-founder and editor, called me.

He had heard of our plans to launch La Política and wanted to know more. I gave him details of
our preparations to launch an electronic trade newsletter on the business of reaching Hispanic voters.

At his suggestion, we agreed to talk again after the launch of La Política on November 5 to explore avenues of collaboration between Politico and our publication.

We did launch on November 5. But next day, instead of a call from VanderHei, we received a two-page aggressive and threatening letter from Politico’s attorney demanding that we “cease and desist” from the use of the La Política name because they hold a registered trade mark in the term “The Politico.”

I, of course, rapidly called VanderHei and sent him the following e-mail message:

From: Arturo Villar [mailto:avillar@hispanicmarketweekly.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 9:54 AM
To: ‘jim@politico.com’
Subject: Urgent; Please call me
Jim: I left you a phone message yesterday wanting to talk about La Politica.

When you called me on July 11 to inquire about La Politica, I shared our plans for the mewsletter, and we talked about exploring ways to work together after our launch in the fall.

We did launch this past Monday, and instead I have received a letter from your attorney
We are studying the matter and we need more time to consider the business implication of your attorney’s demand Please call me at ..; to discuss this and our cooperation plans.
Saludos, Arturo

No response from VanderHei.

I later offered, to no avail, to travel to D.C. to find an amicable solution to Politico’s complaint and our resulting predicament.

So, just at the start of what we believed would be a dedicated march towards journalistic excellence, we at La Política have had to dedicate priceless time and resources to seek dialogue, negotiations and alternatives under the threat of a costly lawsuit.

As a result, we have given in to the power of big money and decided to change our name to CandidatoUSA

For many of our friends, this is yet another chapter in the long history of bullying intransigence by big media companies against independent start-ups.

But we are no threat to Politico. We are geared to totally different audiences.

We have offered to guarantee in any manner or form that we will not infringe on their use of that name. And we are honorable people, as demonstrated by 10 years of independent uninterrupted weekly publication of our flagship title, Hispanic MarketWeekly.

I cannot say goodbye to La Política. Certainly not to the idea and purpose behind it. Not even good luck or good riddance to those who deny us the right to use it.

So,with CandidatoUSA we will continue to offer our readers the why and the how of attracting the Latino voter.

Our readers, and the advertisers who want to reach them, will know we are fine, growing, thriving and dedicated to serving them with expertise, professionalism and dignity.

There’s only six days until the next Spanish-language presidential debate, 64 days til Super Tuesday, and 48 weeks til elections.

As I write this, candidates in countless state and local elections are making plans, plotting strategies, raising money and reaching out to Hispanic voters. The really important thing is that we will be here to tell you how they are doing it.
Don’t miss it.

Now Candidato USA? they certainly could have come up with a better name, how about CandidatA USA…

5 Responses to “The Politico claims to own the Spanish language”

1. Man Eegee says:

   December 3, 2007 at 8:43 pm

   This is outrageous! I wonder if I’ll be the next recipient of a letter, even though my blog two and a half years old?
2. Adventures of the Coconut Caucus - We put the PANIC in Hispanic » The Politico is NOT the Original Politico says:

   December 3, 2007 at 11:56 pm

   [...] The Politico claims to own the Spanish language [...]
3. La Politica y huevos. « Kate Sheppard says:

   December 5, 2007 at 5:30 pm

   [...] Politica y huevos. Jump to Comments Apparently, Politico thinks they own the Spanish language. They’re making La Politica, theonline newsletter on Latino political issues, change their name because it’s too similar to theirs. Mind you they’re hardly the same word even. “La politica” means “politics” or “policy” in Spanish. “Politico” actually means “politician,” though I guess one could argue that it could be used for female politician. Somehow I’m guessing that that’s not the translation Politico would want for itself. [...]
4. SpanishGuy says:

   March 22, 2008 at 3:14 pm

   “Man Eegee” hit it on the head, unfair! The power of big money…

   Ciao,
   Tristan
5. Adventures of the Coconut Caucus - We put the PANIC in Hispanic » Politico Kills La Política says:

   May 12, 2008 at 11:21 am

   [...] After Politico threatened La Política with “legal action” for using a perfectly good word in Spanish, what was a promising Latino political web outlet has called it quits… Dear Reader: [...]