My name is Neil Gittings and after 19 years living in Paris, I will be returning to Texas to begin again my career in photography.
However,there is a problem in that a company in Dallas is using my family name "GITTINGS".
They bought the shell of this company from my family about 20 years ago..
Ever since, they have tried to prevent me from using my name Gittings.
They even took me to federal court for trademark infringement.
At that time I did not handle the situation very well because my mother had recently committed suicide and I did not understand trademark law. Thus they managed to get a ruling against me.
I have no intention of allowing anyone telling me when and how to use my name.
And Texas state law and US federal clearly states that a trademark may not be "primarily just a surname"
So,when I return in the next few weeks, I expect they will give me trouble.
I even risk going to prison for the crime of being a photographer who is named Gittings.
I believe this company has managed to remove several pages on Facebook. One such page was "Gittings PHOTOGRAPHY"...this page was reserved only for those by the name of Gittings.
Now, I shall resort to blogging.
If they manage to remove this blog, I shall recreate my internet presence a thousand times over.
I will not give up. I have tried to reason with this company, but they continue in their efforts to prevent me from the use of my name.
I am not trying to take a trademark on this name because, in fact, no one may take a family name as their trademark.
I am sending this link to all my cousins who share the Gittings name. I shall also send this link to the media as the situation unfolds.
We all have the right to use our name as we wish.
Gittings
