T-shirt maker sinks rival with dubious trademark of 150-year-old nautical icon

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Rather than defend against a threatened trademark lawsuit, a California-based maritime-news website has now stopped selling T-shirts with the historic shipping icon known as the Plimsoll Line.

"Yes, we got feedback from a few lawyers, and they all agreed that while we have a very strong case, our profits on those items are a fraction of the cost of a legal defense," gCaptain's owner, John Konrad, emailed Ars. "They suggested we save the money and remove the items to comply with the request... so we did. "

He added that the company acceded to the demands brought on behalf of Plimsoll Gear, a company holding a trademark on the Plimsoll Line for T-shirts and other items. gCaptain stopped selling its Plimsoll T-shirts on May 20.

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