War and Peace: More about the Bond no. 9 Issue

I (and at least one other blogger) got a comment on my last Bond no. 9 post. Here it is:

NYC Perfumista has left a new comment on your post "How I saved $230":

In response to standard actions regarding a Bond No. 9 trademark infringement,Ms. Zorn has personally waged war on us by Internet and by telephone.
For the information of those who support her based on these postings, etc., we thought it only fair to publish the following document. While waging said war, she sent this letter to the attorneys of Bond No. 9, declaring her 'peaceful' resolution. She has, in essence, committed the very offense to which she claims (without merit) Bond No. 9 has affronted her.
Bond No. 9 is a small, entrepreneurial company run by one woman who spends a lot of time and money protecting it—her life’s work—and the scope of this company includes her trademarks. As a small business owner, and given the significant portion of her budget required to secure the names and phrases that are essential to the success of her business, she strongly defends them all.
The creative spirit of Bond No. 9 is copied every day by various companies, large and small, and we protect our rights in all cases. Laurice encourages everyone to be creative and to protect their ideas.Two Springs ago she had the idea to launch a Peace fragrance at the United Nations and donate to UNICEF for that first year. Since 2007, the donations have been to Seeds of Peace (http://seedsofpeace.org/), and Laurice continues to donate for Peace. The Scent of Peace is a top selling fragrance which allows us to donate a large amount of money to charity, and we're very pleased

The first annoying thing is the lack of name and title. Hiding behind a fake blogger account doesn't give anyone more credibility, and as my readers, friends and family know, this blog has always been open to comments from everyone, no need to create an account (and a silly user name. NYC Perfumista? Really?).

If you're Ms Rahme, her assistant, or her PR person, own up to it. Post your name and your email address the way all of us do.

I also don't appreciate using my blog for spammy content. You're welcome to respond directly to the points I've made, like everyone else did. But spewing empty PR crap which you copy and paste all over the blogsphere is not cool. Those of us who write and read about the perfume and beauty industry know how to spot commercial prose from miles away, which is what this comment is. There's no real substance here, from attacking Ms. Zorn to playing the "poor me" card.

Seriously, Bond no. 9 has several Manhattan boutiques and is sold at Saks. That might be "small and entrepreneurial " compared to Kenzo and Avon who also have Peace themed fragrances, but don't make me gag. It's not anywhere near the small artisan houses Bond decided to bully. And perfumistas (real ones, I mean) know the difference.

You can see the copy/paste campaign on my friends' blogs:
Pansy's Rants
The Lipstick Page

War and Peace movie image from IMDB

How I saved $230

I was getting close to caving in and buying the new Bond no. 9 Andy Warhol Silver Factory perfume. After all, it's a great scent and I really liked it (it's the last item in the linked post), even though the 3.4 oz bottle would mean a lifetime supply, with enough left for my nieces and nephews to sell as vintage in the estate sale.

However, it seems that Bond no. 9 has not only a love for my favorite city and its icons but also a huge case of hubris. Apparently, this company, who has used the names of nearly every NYC landmark for its perfumes, is now the owner of abstract nouns and concepts. Case in point: Artisan perfumer Liz Zorn got a nastigram from Bond no.9 attorneys, threatening to take her to the cleaners because her fragrance "Peace on Earth" is an infringement on Bond's right to the word "Peace" that was established in their "Scent of Peace" perfume (which to my nose is a total bore, but that's beside the point).

Do you think that a similar letter was sent to LVMH, the owners of Kenzo's "Time for Peace"? My money would be on "No".

It looks like this isn't a new tactic for Bond no. 9. According to posts made by Anya McCoy (here and here), another artisan perfumer and owner of Anya's Garden, had a similar experience before she discontinued her Riverside perfume (Bond no. 9 also offer a perfume called Riverside Drive, and apparently they own that part of Manhattan, though I suspect the Donald might argue with this statement).

I find this nasty and ridiculous. I don't see Serge Lutens battling Keiko Mecheri over the rights to the name Loukhoum, or D&G going after Bvlgari in a battle of the Blue, not to mention the many blacks, reds, passion or loves can be found in many perfumes of competing companies (How many others can you find?). But Bond no. 9 owns "Peace". Lovely irony.

What they don't own is my money, which will be spent elsewhere, on something from a very small and independent perfume house. One that doesn't have a law firm on retainer.