FAIRFAX CITY, VA — A representative of Democrat Chap Petersen’s campaign sent a cease and desist letter to Saddam Azlan Salim, his opponent in the District 37 race for the Virginia Senate. Both candidates are on the ballot for the June 20 Democratic Party primary; early voting started Friday.
On Thursday, the Salim campaign received a letter from Ibnul A. Khan, who works for Chap Petersen & Associates, PLC, demanding that the Friends of Saddam Azlan Salim cease and desist from trying to register the “infringing domains” www.fairfaxsenator.org and www.chappetersen.org. Additionally, he demanded that the friends group stop using “at least five” other domains that redirect internet search traffic to a page on the Salim campaign site. (https://www.salimforsenate.com/chap).
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Read the full text of the cease and desist letter below.
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Salim’s campaign was given a deadline of 5 p.m. on Friday to respond in writing that the appropriate actions were taken to ensure that the websites no longer were live. If the campaign fails to comply with the demands of the letter by Monday, Petersen will seek emergency injunctive relief for violations of the Lanham Act and ACPA against Salim and the Friends group.
The letter also claimed that “Chap,” in addition to being Petersen’s name, was part of his trademark since 2007, both as used for his law firm and his role as “Fairfax Senator.” As such, Salim’s use of “Chap” on the infringing websites without his permission is an infringement of the Lanham Act, according to Khan.
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“You and Friends are continuing to engage in violations of the Lanham Act and ACPA,” the letter states. “The impact of the confusion caused by a violation of 15 U.S.C. 1125(a) and –(d)– through the improper registration of the Infringing Domains and engaging in the Infringing Conduct–have been compounded with the violations of Virginia Election law on Advertising, Va. Code § 24.2-956(2). This conduct has long been deemed as prohibited. See, e.g., Federal Election Commission’s Advisory Opinion 2015-04 (the act of merely using an opponent’s name as the name of a competing campaign website, even without soliciting any contributions, is prohibited so as “[t]o limit ‘the potential for confusion’ and ‘minimize[e] the possibility of fraud and abuse.’”).”
On Thursday, the Petersen campaign released the following letter to supporters, which was shared by the Blue Virginia blog on Twitter.
Dear Friends & Virginians:
Earlier this morning, my campaign sent a letter to my opponent Saddam Azlan Salim, demanding he stop using websites “chappetersen.org” and “fairfaxsenator.org” as well as any other websites intended to deceive voters into thinking they are affiliated with me.
I am not worried about the cartoon-style attack ads against me featured on those websites. Voters are too smart to fall for that.
I do mind having my name used, without permission, in a way that is intended to deceive and confuse voters. That is not a First Amendment right.
In America, you have a property right in your name, image and likeness. You work hard to establish a name that people trust. You don’t let someone devalue your name by deceptively using it.
I trust that Mr. Selim (sic) will take down these websites and we can resume the ordinary and honest give and take of a political campaign. (By the way, the links to our actual debates are here & here).
And let the voters decide …
Chap
On Friday afternoon, Laura Stokes, Salim’s campaign manager, issued the following statement.
“Yesterday Senator Chap Petersen’s law firm wrote our campaign a letter complaining about a website we’ve put together informing voters about his record as a State Senator. While we don’t own the URLs directing traffic to our campaign website, we find it interesting that Senator Petersen does not want the words “Chap Petersen” and “Fairfax Senator” associated with any information about his actual voting record. He’s afraid that you, the voters, might find out what he’s actually been doing while in elected office. You might find out, for example, that he was one of only 4 Democrats who voted against an assault weapons ban, about how he voted against paid sick leave for part time workers right before a pandemic (and still defends that position), about how he spends his time defending Confederate monuments and opposing anti-discrimination legislation for the LGBTQIA community. All of what we’ve put on the campaign website salimforsenate.com/chap is linked to sources and all of it is factual, verifiable information. Senator Petersen claimed this website was deceptive, but it is clearly marked as our campaign website – what the Senator resists is the idea that he is accountable for all of his record, not just the part he likes to campaign on.
“He has threatened to sue us for using the term ‘Fairfax Senator,’ which he claims is his as a common law trademark. We believe only the people of the district have the right to decide who is the Fairfax Senator — that is what democracy is all about. Voters choose who becomes the Senator in Fairfax, not Chap Petersen. He can claim a trademark and sue anyone who uses the nickname he’s given himself, but he still has to earn the title in the eyes of voters.
“Saddam Salim got into this race to give people a different choice for their State Senator for the first time in sixteen years. Part of our campaign is about returning power back into the hands of the voters, where it belongs. Your voice matters — you the people choose the Fairfax Senator, the Vienna Senator, the Falls Church Senator, or the Tysons Senator. In honor of that right, from this point forward you can learn more about this race at: VotersChooseTheSenatorFromFairfax.com.”
Letter From Chap Petersen to Saddam Salim by Deb Belt on Scribd
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