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By TIMES WIRES
Published August 31, 2006

Zippo knockoffs stray too close to the fire

The maker of Zippo lighters is turning up the heat on knockoffs of the distinctively shaped - and trademarked - lighters. For the first time since obtaining trademark registration of the slightly rounded rectangular shape four years ago, Zippo Manufacturing Co. has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission to stop the manufacture and sale of knockoffs, said Jeff Duke, the company's attorney. The ITC is investigating Zippo's complaint, which was filed in May. An evidentiary hearing before an administrative law judge is scheduled for Feb. 5, but Duke said he hopes the complaint can be resolved before then. The complaint seeks to bar imports of knockoffs. Four Chinese companies and three U.S. distributors are listed as respondents, but Duke said there are "dozens upon dozens." Brian Cohen, president of BeWild.com, a Bellmore, N.Y., distributor named in the complaint, said he was unaware of the trademark issue and stopped selling the lighters in question when notified.

At RadioShack, you've got mail ... and you're fired

RadioShack Corp. notified about 400 workers by e-mail that they were being dismissed immediately as part of planned job cuts. Employees at the Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters got messages Tuesday morning saying: "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated." Company officials had told employees in a series of meetings that layoff notices would be delivered electronically, spokeswoman Kay Jackson said. She said employees were invited to ask questions before Tuesday's notification on a company intranet site. Derrick D'Souza, a management professor at the University of North Texas, said he had never heard of such a large number of terminated employees being notified electronically. He said it could be seen as dehumanizing to employees. "If I put myself in their shoes, I'd say, 'Didn't they have a few minutes to tell me?' " D'Souza said.

Other chatter

GOOGLE OFFERS OUT-OF-COPYRIGHT BOOKS: Google Inc. will start allowing users to download and print books that are out of copyright in its book search engine. The titles can be viewed online or downloaded in Adobe Systems Inc.'s Acrobat PDF format, Google said. Titles include Sir Isaac Newton's Principia and Dante's Inferno.

WAL-MART HIRES EX-CLINTON ADVISER: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is paying former President Clinton adviser Leslie Dach at least $3-million over the next two years to direct a rapid-response team to handle mounting criticism of the world's largest retailer.

[Last modified August 30, 2006, 19:41:18]