Power Hour Drinking Games Are in Jeopardy!
I wrote 60 songs about drinking. And theyâre all one minute long. If youâve ever done a power hour youâll know itâs a drinking game where you take a shot of beer every time the song changes. Awesomeness ensues.
I play these songs live at my Drinking Game Concerts where the crowd plays the game while I perform. You can play the game right now with this video playlist:
Someone is trying to force me to take down my videos, stop selling my album and stop performing my live drinking game concerts. I need your help to stop this from happening.
A guy by the name of Steve Roose also made a power hour DVD. He was JUST granted a trademark for the term âpower hourâ. Steve didnât invent the power hour so he shouldnât have the trademark but he has now begun harassing me to get rid of everything Iâve made related to my Power Hour Drinking Game Album.
Iâve hired a lawyer and already sunk lots of money into fighting this. The next step is for me to protest Steveâs trademark because he most definitely shouldnât have the rights to that name. This is where you come in.
Help Me Save the Power Hour
My lawyer says itâs going to take an estimated $15,000 to fight Steve. I need your help to raise the money to keep the power hour name free from ownership otherwise The Power Hour Album, music videos and live Drinking Game Concerts will disappear forever. Please donate anything you can to this (obviously) worthy (because itâs about beer!) cause.
All donors will be acknowledged on my site (if they donât want to be anonymous) and there are some awesome incentives based on how much you donate. You can get anything from a download of the album to a private Drinking Game Concert from me! Theyâre all listed below.
If you canât donate but still want to help me out, please post links and share this website any way you can. Facebook, Digg, Reddit, Twitter, carrier pigeonâŚ..whatever. Just help me spread the word!
UPDATE: Steve has gotten my Power Hour Concert events taken off of Facebook. Heâs also successfully gotten my DVD taken off of Amazon and stopped Rhapsody from selling my mp3s. These types of websites donât want to get in the middle of disputes so when they receive a cease and desist, they take the content down immediately no matter what the context. In Steveâs threat emails to me he said heâs also going to contact iTunes and YouTube. Iâm guessing those will come down next if I donât get his trademark revoked soon.
Why Steve Shouldnât Have the Trademark
The term âpower hourâ has been around for a a very long time. It is a general term that describes the game. Trademark law states âRegistration of a mark that is merely descriptive should be refused.â This means the term âpower hourâ shouldnât belong to Steve. He shouldnât be able to force me to throw away my artwork. I just need the money to protest this so that I can get his trademark removed.
All Power Hours are in Danger, Not Just Mine
Not only is Steve trying to get rid of my power hour, heâs been bullying other people as well. Power Hour HQ is another site that has contacted me about stopping Steve Roose. Unless you help SAVE THE POWER HOUR, Steve will be able to get rid of every power hour anyone has ever made and heâs already begun to try.
If youâre another site that wants to join the fight, send me an email at powerhour [at] alispagnola [dot] com.
Reasons Why This Makes Me Sad
- My Power Hour Album is my creative work. I get a lot of enjoyment out of it (and I do believe many others do as well). It would be a frigginâ shame if I had to completely dispense with my creation.
- This issue is being decided not based on who is morally right but who has the most money.
- Iâm making this website right now when I should be out drinking and having a good time with my friends.
Ways to Make Me Unsad
Well Crap. I Donât Want to Publicize for This Guy
I havenât linked to Steveâs power hour DVD because I donât want to give him more traffic but feel free to find him online and form your own opinion. Then feel free to NOT buy his power hour 
Also, feel free to donate to help me fight him!
SAVE THE POWER HOUR Press
Thanks for helping to share SAVE THE POWER HOUR!
Power Hour HQ ⢠Reddit ⢠Heavy.com ⢠Techdirt ⢠Pittsburgh City Paper ⢠Bro Bible ⢠Reddit ⢠Twitter ⢠Digg ⢠#savethepowerhour ⢠urlesque ⢠The Power Hour Podcast
A Final Note
Thanks for reading this far. I really appreciate any donations or publicity you can give me. Also⌠binge responsibly!
SAVE THE POWER HOUR Backers
Thanks so much to all the people helping to SAVE THE POWER HOUR!
107 Backers
$5,721.30 Donated
4/26/11
Chris Gillotti donated $75
4/26/11
Chris Gillotti donated $40
1/7/11
Anonymous donated $10
11/25/10
Margaret Dempsey donated $1
8/2/10
Those People donated $1,200
“TURKEY FRY OH-’10 =) Good luck on the copyright battle.”
7/24/10
Nilesh Shah donated $10
“I’m up to three Power Hours a week thanks to Ali’s infectious tunes. Don’t make me stop!”
7/7/10
Kaori Yazawa donated $200
6/15/10
Anonymous donated $5
6/12/10
Anonymous donated $20
6/6/10
Anonymous donated $500
6/2/10
Debbie Brashear donated $99.36
“Because my little’s power hours are the best!”
5/28/10
Doug Fritz donated $25
5/25/10
Anonymous donated $100
5/25/10
Paul Stuckey donated $10
“FREEEEEEDOME!”
5/25/10
Alan Eaton donated $6
“Whoever copyrighted Power Hour did so after a Power Hour!”
5/24/10
David Rice donated $50
5/23/10
Dave B. donated $15
5/21/10
dpax55 donated $5
5/21/10
Nicholas Begovich donated $5
“I like how you’ve turned a bad situation around! Kudos!”
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/21/10
Creighton Linza donated $25
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $2
5/21/10
Weasel donated $10
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $25
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $20
5/21/10
Jonas Sicking donated $10
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $1
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $9.99
5/21/10
Anonymous donated $10
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $1
5/20/10
Daniel Garrison donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $10
5/20/10
Friend from San Jose donated $40
5/20/10
Marc Monroe donated $10
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $10
5/20/10
Bill Dubert donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $10
âThere may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. -Elie Wieselâ
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $10
“As Thomas Jefferson said, ‘those who abuse the trademark system deserve a beerless eternity.'”
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $25
5/20/10
Vicki Wenderlich donated $10
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $1
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $15
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $20
5/20/10
Kevin Haller donated $20
“Your music is completely awesome, I hope you come out on top in the lawsuit!”
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $10
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $50
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $20
5/20/10
Anonymous Redditor donated $10
“Best of luck!”
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $15
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $10
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $25
5/20/10
Kate Oliver donated $5
5/20/10
Rhys Dawson donated $5
5/20/10
John Painz donated $10
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $10
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $25
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $1
5/20/10
Johnny DuBro Buse donated $1.60
5/20/10
Anonymous – Austin, TX donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $1
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/20/10
Chris Lemcke donated $1
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $20
5/20/10
Ben Dalton donated $20
5/20/10
Shomari Smith donated $25
5/20/10
Andrew K. donated $40
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $40
5/20/10
Timothy Reese donated $25
âKeep on fighting the good fight!â
5/20/10
Anonymous donated $10
5/19/10
Andrew Cummings donated $10
5/18/10
Mulligan Burns donated $99.35
âone up on Grauelâ
5/18/10
Anonymous donated $100
5/18/10
Jerod Ashton donated $25
5/14/10
Jason Grauel donated $99.34
âSo I can cowbell again somedayâŚâ
5/13/10
Chris Lee donated $100
5/13/10
Anonymous donated $1,300
âKick his ass, seriously.â
5/12/10
Eric Brown donated $10
âIâm loving it! ⌠wait am I allowed to say that?â
5/11/10
Anonymous donated $5
5/11/10
Rachel Leyko donated $25
5/11/10
Phillip Friddle donated $10
5/10/10
Mark Tomczak donated $200
5/10/10
Cary Kingdom donated $20
âNobody likes a bullyâ
5/10/10
Erin Moore donated $30
5/10/10
Anonymous donated $6.66
5/10/10
Evan Tahler donated $50
âStick this in your pocket! Love Aliâ
5/10/10
Anonymous donated $100
5/10/10
Samantha Helsing donated $20
5/10/10
Simon Fitzkit donated $5
âIn the field!â
5/10/10
Bobby Schweizer donated $25
âDamn the man, save the Empire!!â
5/10/10
Aaron Tarnow donated $25
5/10/10
Kit FitzSimons donated $70
âFight the Power. Buy the Hour.â
5/10/10
Seema Patel donated $10
âPeople who abuse the Patent/Trademark system deserve a good cock punching.â
5/10/10
Anonymous donated $25
5/10/10
Andy Jih donated $25
âSPRING BREAKâ
5/10/10
Anonymous donated $200
2/8/12
Anonymous donated $10
2/11/12
Anonymous donated $10
2/20/12
Anonymous donated $15
2/20/12
Anonymous donated $10
4/14/12
Anonymous donated $25
To be added to the list, use this:
Have you taken your case and details to the fine folks at eff.org ? Submit your story to sites like techdirt.com (not mine) and slashdot. Bad publicity works wonders in scaring off patent/trademark trolls.
Crap we used the word power hour back when I was in High School (1979)
Hey, I’m too young to drink, and don’t really like your music, but you have a lot of talent nonetheless.
I can’t believe someone would put legal pressure on someone as nice as you. I hope you overcome this!
Oh, and you’re very pretty
Prior art surely? All you should have to do is prove that you were using the name prior to him registering it, isn’t it?
Just got my CD in the mail, it’s awesome! Thanks Ali, good luck with the fight! đ
He doesnt have a specimen showing the Mark in use with a cd. Check the specimen page.
http://tmportal.uspto.gov/external/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLN4r3CQXJgFieAfqRqCLGpqgiBvGOcIEgfW99X4_83FT9AP2C3NDQiHJHRQDD4l9W/delta/base64xml/L0lDU0lKQ1RPN29na21DU1Evb0tvUUFBSVFnakZJQUFRaENFSVFqR0VKemdBIS80SkZpQ28wZWgxaWNvblFWR2hkLXNJZDJFQSEhLzdfMF9GTC81L3NhLmdvdi51c3B0by50b3cuYWN0aW9ucy5EZXRhaWxWaWV3QWN0aW9u#
If Steve applied for the trademark and received it…shame on you for not doing it before he did. No matter how old the name is…
Give us an update to whats going on with the battle!!!
@Update us
Woo! Thanks for caring đ
My lawyer helped me put together an opposition and we submitted it against Steve’s trademark. Now we’re in a waiting period where Steve has a chance to file a response. I’ll post some more updates as they happen but the working with the US Patent and Trademark Office isn’t exactly speedy.
I think spencers pulled his product from the stores. They were in the clearance section!!!!!!! So that is probably where most of his income came from.
@Update us
Steve submitted a response to my opposition. Ugh. Which means we’ve gone into a “discovery period”. Basically, my lawyer is requesting lots of information from Steve about his business and his claims. And there has to be a conference between Steve’s lawyer and mine. Though we’re pretty sure Steve still doesn’t actually have a lawyer. So far he’s been able to drain my money without losing any himself but hopefully that will change soon. I’ll keep updating as I get more info.
Cant donate now, im unemployed hopefully ill remember when i do get income, i will share this however.
Not a big drinker myself, but i always love being a part of bringing down sleezy people like Stephen. Power hour has something ive been hearing of since i was younger way before his game in 2000. he knew what he was doing all along, the guys a scumbag, i hate buisness people like that. Also he got rich off something he didnt even make up and now says it his lol. You made original songs based off power hour.
Also i can see him making you change the name(if the trademark was legit), but hes out of his mind thining he can make u stop posting those kind of videos and making those kind of concerts, some peopel need a brain. If he didnt have the money you could defintly win this hand downs cuz the guys a moron. THe fact that he doesnt have a lawyer yet could be good meaning he waited all his profits onbeer or to cheap and having his educated friends pretend to be lawyers.
I have plent yof friend who are into to power hours, ive even done them here and there, ill be sure to let them know.
Also it suck that you’re waisting (i wouldnt exactly say waisting tis going to a good cause) all your money fighting this instead of enjoying your profits. Hopefully when its all over your album/dvd sales get a big boost. ALso im going over to Stephens site to let him know what i think of him.
good luck
Any updates on this Ali?
@Creighton
The trademark office assigned an interlocutory attorney to assist in the case. That person, my lawyer and Steve Roose held a discovery conference on Wednesday. The interlocutory attorney advised Steve to get a lawyer but he refused. She said that she had done some searching for power hour, and indicated that Steve would have a tough time establishing that he was effectively policing his mark. Steve is still moving forward with fighting me.
So in other words…..he has no money, and can’t afford a lawyer. Can you sue him to get your lawyer fees, and lost wages back?
@GOOD JOB!!!!
I’m not sure. I don’t want to ask my lawyer yet because I have to shell out every time I talk to him haha! It’s definitely something to consider in the future even though more litigation doesn’t sound appealing right now.
Just posted an update on my News page about the opposition:
http://www.alispagnola.com/powerhour/2010/09/power-hour-trademark-update/
More news about the case so far:
http://www.alispagnola.com/powerhour/2011/01/interrogatories-and-request-for-production-of-documents/
This might explain why he lost interest in the Powerhour trademark
http://www.steveroose.com/