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| Infamous Telephone Number “867-5309” Still Ringing for Gem Plumbing |
May 16, 2007 - Lincoln, RI After months of sorting the details of a lawsuit brought on by Gem Plumbing & Heating against Clockwork Home Services, a Florida based competitor, a Federal Judge ordered yesterday that Clockwork immediately cease using the toll free version of the infamous 867-5309 telephone number in connection with marketing, advertising, or promotion of their services in New England.
In 2005, Gem Plumbing & Heating of Lincoln, R.I., trademarked 867-5309 for its telephone number, making it the focus point of their advertising campaign.
Gem is now battling in court with a national company, Clockwork Home Services, that has been using a toll-free version of the number. In an early victory for Gem, a federal judge in Boston recently ordered Florida-based Clockwork to stop using it in New England, effective this week.
This was welcome news to Gem's president, Anthony P. Gemma. "People can't get the number out of their heads," said Gemma, whose parents founded the company in 1949. "So if they ever have a plumbing problem, they think of the number, and they think of our company without having to go to the phone book -- and that instant recall is a big deal for us."
Clockwork, which provides plumbing and heating services as well as consulting services to home maintenance contractors, says that Gem's trademark registration is invalid, in part because such a legal designation applies only to vanity phone numbers that describe the product being offered, such as 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-MATTRESS, argues Clockwork's Boston lawyer.
The telephone number originally came from Brown University, which gave it to Gem several years ago at the company's request when the school grew tired of the prank calls it attracted. Now, it is a "major differentiator for us," said Gemma, who believes the song is widely known to people ranging from high school age to those in their mid-50s.
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Contact: Rebecca Gamage
Telephone # 401-459-4819
Fax #: 401-528-1976
Email: rgamage@gemplumbing.com
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