ArteWorks SEO to Join in Fight Against Trademarking Term "SEO"

It seems there is a character who thinks he can trademark the term "SEO". ArteWorks SEO is joining the trademark litigation, and it going to be fun laying the smack down on this nobody.

This character, who nobody has ever heard of before, has a name. His name is Jason Gambert. One look at his pathetic website, which I absolutely refuse to link to here, is clearly demonstrative of the absolute pitiful amount of knowledge of SEO this guy has. Take a look at his title tag, which by the way is the only indexable piece of content on the site. It's horrible. Why is there no indexable content on his site? Because it is a Flash site. And this guy claims to be an "SEO".

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has already denied his application at least three times. In his current application, he makes the claim that "SEO" is his rightful trademark and stands for "systems efficient optimization", which is a "process" (as opposed to a service) for the manipulation of keywords and keyphrases, and is not an Internet marketing service. Of course, Gambert contradicts his own application in statements he has made on his personal blog and elsewhere, appealing to the SEO community for support of his application, so that a standardized set of "SEO best practices" can be developed for the benefit of all mankind.

Now wait a minute, Gambert. I thought you said SEO had nothing to do with search engine optimization? Why, then, are you in your personal blog saying that your goal is to create a set of SEO standards? And, by the way, who are you? If anyone is going to be setting SEO standards, it will certainly not be you, a person of whom nobody has ever heard, with no professional reputation, not a single verifiable client (have you ever actually done any SEO for a paying client), and obviously zero SEO knowledge.

Utter hogwash.

The good folks at SEOMoz have already filed their Notice of Opposition with the USPTO, and ArteWorks SEO is in the process of filing its response. The SEOMoz response aptly notes that Gambert's application proposes to trademark the term "SEO" for any and all "computer related services". He claims the first use of the term "SEO" was by him and occured on or about February 14, 2007.

SEOMoz's pleading sheds further light on the arguments against the granting of this preposterous application. It notes that the term "SEO" has been used since the 1990's, and in fact that SEOMoz has been using it since 2003, a good 4 years prior to Gambert's alleged "first use". SEOMoz further elucidates the fact that it appears Gambert has falsified information and engaged in deception regarding his use of the term, including a cooked up logo or icon in which he claims he coined the term "SEO", but which is obviously nothing more than a "phony specimen" which has never been used in commerce and was concocted for the sole purpose of supporting his trademark application.

The SEOMoz Notice of Opposition continues, citing additional problems with the application, providing additional evidence that the term "SEO" has been widely and generically used in the field of SEO (oh wait, am I allowed to say that?), and goes on to describe SEO as a service (not a process as Gambert claims) which is an "essential marketing strategy". SEOMoz lends additional credence to their argument that it is a marketing and not a technological service by elucidating the otherwise-obvious-to-everyone-on-the-planet-but-Gambert fact that SEO is typically paid for out of an organization's marketing budget rather than its technology budget.

What it all boils down to is this - Gambert is trying to make a quick buck by leveraging the right to use the term SEO to only himself and those who he, in his sole discretion, believes meet the standards for SEO "best practices".

As leaders in the SEO industry, ArteWorks SEO is thrilled to join in the fight against this guy. See you in court, my friend.