Fellas. Please comment, like, share, and voice your opinion on this matter. Probably many of you are unaware of some stuff going on in our diesel community. I, myself, could have never imagined it would happen to me. It could potentially happen to anybody.

We are involved in a lawsuit with Neal Technologies over the term “bulletproof.” We believe it is meritless.

Because this case is active, there is little I can say other than what is listed below. Please take some time to read it though - we believe this fight is not just for ourselves, but for the thousands of other diesel shops in the country that may be using the term “bulletproof.” Our ultimate goal is to band together with the diesel community and with other small business owners across the country to show Neal Technologies that we are determined to fight for our rights and achieve justice. We will not give up!

This post is an effort to gain support and give attention to a lawsuit that we believe is meritless. In the lawsuit, Neal Technologies (which has a website at www.bulletproofdiesel.c om) is attempting to prevent us, Unique Motorsports (we have a website at www.unique-motorsports.com), from using the term "bulletproof.” However, even the United States Patent and Trademark Office has stated that “[t]he term ‘bulletproof’ has a long-standing and well-recognized meaning . . . to denote items which are allegedly extremely durable or capable of withstanding severe service/abuse.”

We’re a small shop out of Lewisville, Texas with less than five employees. We’re up against one of the largest diesel shops in the country that is located all the way in Arizona. Out of the numerous people and businesses who have apparently been using the term “bulletproof” freely and with no constraints, Neal Technologies has chosen to sue us, perhaps just to make an example out of us. This has caused our company’s production to slow and put a great deal of stress on us as we defend this lawsuit. In spite of this, we do not intend to give up and intend to fight this case for as long and as hard as necessary.

We believe this case is extremely important because it may set a precedent for future potential lawsuits regarding use of the term “bulletproof.” This could affect many business owners and individuals in the diesel community. If Neal Technologies is allowed to have exclusive rights to the term “bulletproof,” this could prevent others from effectively advertising their services online for making trucks last longer and perform better.

One of our co-owners, Nathan, is a Veteran of the US Army, so we know that sometimes in this country you have to FIGHT for your rights and that is exactly what we are planning to do. Our other co-owner, Dustin, is a Texas-native, and started this business years ago and built it into what it is today. We don’t want to see someone from hundreds of miles away in Arizona tear down what we have worked so hard to build.

Please join us in this fight. Small business owners across the country face frivolous lawsuits every day. Lawsuits from large companies stifle competition and threaten the US economy. We are proud to live in the United States, where we are free to start our own businesses and contribute to, what we believe is, the greatest country in the world.

If you would like to show us your support, you can help us by contributing to our Go Fund Me page (www.gofundme.com/supportums) and by signing our petition (https://www.change.org/p/everyone-su...ue-motorsports). You can also follow along - #SupportUMS and supportUMS.com.

Dustin Helms, Owner and Founder, Unique Motorsports

 

I was in business for over thirty years and have been sued for frivolous reasons, unfortunately, that happens when in business, and I paid my own legal fees.
My advice would be to watch your own Attorney.

 

Where are you using the term bulletproof and when did you start using it? I didn't see it appear on your site.

Using the term "bulletproof diesel" or "bulletproof your diesel" for would be a case worth bringing against competitors especially if people started using it after 2010 or 2012. If people started using the term after the success of Neal with their oil cooler and EGR replacements that could easily be judged in bad faith and probably a legit case to bring as "confusing similarity". I'm not saying they would win but it is legitimate just looking at it as someone who got involved in two similar cases. Just because they are big and perhaps are jerks doesn't mean they are wrong.

We had two fairly common words used in our trademark and name. Once successful people started trading on it, cyber squatting on similar domains that re-directed to their sites, etc. But a trademark is a trademark and if you are in the same trade and using those terms especially after someone is successful with it then you are acting in bad faith.