The YES Men

Subject: Use of a website... infringing copyright on the trademarks of BP p.l.c.
Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:15:09 -0000
From: White, Robert S C <robert.white2@uk.bp.com>

Dear Sirs,
My name is Robert White and I work in Group Trade Marks - part of the Legal Department of BP p.l.c. Our responsibilities extend to protecting the BP brand and trade marks which includes monitoring the internet for infringements and fraudulent activities.

Our attention has been drawn to the existence of the following web pages.
http://www.theyesmen.org/agribusiness/beyondpetrol/

You will note that these pages bear a remarkable similarity to the genuine www.bp.com <http://www.bp.com> website. You will observe that the webpages in question include multiple
reproductions of the BP logo. BP p.l.c. has not authorised this and submit that this infringes the copyright in BP's trademarks. In addition, we are concerned that there is a real risk of that genuine visitors could be confused and being diverted away from the genuine www.bp.com <http://www.bp.com> site. For example, please refer to link to the "Contact Us" page
http://www.theyesmen.org/agribusiness/beyondpetrol/contactusdisplay.html

You will see that there are a number email addresses listed all ending in "@beyondpetrol.com". BP neither owns the www.beyondpetrol.com <http://www.beyondpetrol.com> domain and nor the email addresses attached to the domain.

Whilst we do not object to the www.theyesmen.org per se, our concerns relate to the web pages
appearing at the http://www.theyesmen.org/agribusiness/beyondpetrol/ level (and below) in the hierarchy of the site.
[...]

Yours faithfully,

*Robert White*
BP p.l.c.
Group Trade Marks
20 Canada Square
London
E14 5NJ
United Kingdom

Direct Line: +44 (0) 207 948 5726
Fax: +44 (0) 207 948 7723
Email: robert.white2@bp.com robert.white2@bp.com>

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Subject: Use of a website... infringing copyright on the trademarks of BP p.l.c.

Dear Mr. White, BP p.l.c.,

Thank you very much indeed for taking the time to write to us in regard to your company's website, BP.com. First of all, please allow me to say that we do completely understand and
sympathize with the hurt that your company has every right in the world to feel, and we deeply apologize for occasioning this emotion.

And although we do know that there can be no excuse at all for this slight, I would beg your indulgence for just one minute, so that I might try to explain our side of the story, such as it is.

Back in 2006, we began preparing some satires on a number of companies that we considered to be the world's prime malefactors, in order to help expose their monstrous crimes in a humorous way. These companies included ExxonMobil, Halliburton/KBR, and a number of other entities, including your own.

Sadly, while we did get around to fully realizing some of the spoofs - including the ones on Exxon and Halliburton - we actually *forgot* about yours shortly after we began work on it, and it thus remained in the execrable half-finished state in which, to your horror, you found it last week. It didn't even have its own URL!

I would like to sincerely apologize to your company on behalf of the Yes Men. Like morons, we were misled by appearances. Like morons, we thought - or rather, felt - that the malefaction of those other companies was more... maleficent than your own. Yes, we can be real morons sometimes. There is no doubt of that. But I am here to tell you today that we are making efforts. We now understand that objectively, BP does every bit as much damage to this planet as does Exxon, Halliburton, or any other more obviously nefarious company, regardless of its carefully engineered professions of decency and concern. And we are ready today to prove our maturity, sincerity, and newfound intelligence by offering you a fully realized spoof of your own:
http://beyond-petrol.com/. We have likewise deleted the offending pages you refer to below.

I know that our admissions today may be rubbing salt in your wounds, but I do hope that this website can in some way make amends. Any relationship, after all, must start from a place of truth and honesty, not deceit and subterfuge. This is the honest truth, and so this is where we begin. Again, please accept our deepest apologies, and our hopes for a better future.

Yours most faithfully indeed,
The Yes Men

[I just love The Yes Men - if you have have a chance to watch one of their movies, do it! You won't be sorry! They are amazingly funny, while being brutally honest!]