SPIN Magazine "Bullies" Man to Get Twitter Handle

It's @SPINmagazine

​SPIN magazine has issued a cease and desist order to a common man, Eric Rice, forcing him to give up his Twitter handle, which just so happens to be a riff off his nickname -- @SPIN.

According to the letter, issued by the magazine's lawyers, Rice's Twitter handle is causing "significant amount of confusion" among the music mag's readers.

"We hereby demand that you cease and desist all of our client's trademarks on our before May 31, 2011, otherwise our client will have to take additional steps necessary to protect its trademark," the letter states.

What often happens, the magazine explains, is that users won't bother to Google "Spin" and "Twitter." The sometimes, those browsing for @SPINmagazine will get redirected to @SPIN -- which then causes even more problems when they misfire tweets like this:
"Dear @SPIN, I respectfully reject your 7/10. Till you find my 10. We cool. Salute. GtrgBBB!"

However, Rice tells NBC that he's not taking away any of the magazines users. To be sure, a side-by-side comparison shows that @SPIN has some 4,000 followers compared to @SPINmagazine, which has accrued 83,000 followers.

"It feels like I'm being bullied because a few people dialed a wrong number," Rice told NBC Bay Area.

Last night Rice fired off the following tweet: "I suppose a company coming after you over your nickname is probably about as cyberpunk as you can get. G'night folks & thank you."

While the magazine claims Rice is "diluting" its trademark, NBC points out that Twitter's terms of service seem to lean in Rice's favor since he isn't impersonating the company nor is he involved in the industry.

In other words, @toobadforyouSPIN

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