Todd Begg Knives lawsuit

Status
Not open for further replies.
If you want to keep the rights to your name, don't give others control over it. I have a difficult time mustering too much sympathy for Mr. Begg as it certainly sounds like he put himself firmly in this situation.

Don't do business with friends or family has been a truism for a long, long time. This is just another example as to why that's good advice.
 
L
BladeScout said:
Always two sides to every case.

TB's knives never held any allure for me and in particular I find the Bodega downright ugly but thats just me and as I never owned a TB knife I have no horse in that race.

Interesting to read 'Chesshiresteven's' comments to the insta post though.
Click to expand...
Looks like comments have been disabled.
 
brownshoe said:
Actually your comment is spot-on. If the company is named "PIMP" it's got problems from the get-go. Looks like everyone drank the KoolAid at the beginning of the venture...you reap what you sow.
Click to expand...
I agree completely. A company named "PIMP" makes me question the maturity of all involved, which makes me wonder how much thought went into the idea of letting someone else use his name without consulting a lawyer to find out all the ramifications of a trademark (that was his responsibility). Family or not, it's your name and reputation. Without reading all pertinent documents (those that PIMP has yet to produce, plus any mediation agreements, etc.), no one here can really predict what the outcome will be. If PIMP cannot produce the documents they claim exist, then Todd may very well come out on top. If the documents exist and say what the company says, then Todd might be screwed.

And, no, I don't have any skin in the game since neither the designer nor the company consider us left-handers worthy of making models for. It just sucks that fallen human nature rears its ugly head in such a manner.
 
This seems to be missed in several of the attempted summaries of what people think is "going on."

Mr. Begg asserts that the payments he was due under the agreement stopped coming. If true, that behavior, without some act or omission by Begg excusing payment, ended the contract - including any transfer of the right to use his name (brand). If you buy rights, it is not clever to stop making the agreed payments if you want to continue to exercise the rights in question..
 
SpySmasher said:
I know we live in an age of legal sophistication but I think it's shit that anyone could sell something with another person's name on it against their will regardless of past involvement or any agreement. It's shit when it happens to Chris Reeve or Todd Begg or anyone else. A person's name should always be their own trademark. Always.

You may own their design but you shouldn't be able to claim someone's name.
Click to expand...

Do I remember correctly that a thing like that happened with Jeff Randall and Ontario using the RAT name, which is why they had to name the new company ESEE when they parted ways?

Edit: just read the whole thread and saw bhyde’s admonishment about keeping this in topic wrt Begg. Ignore my comment. I don’t want to derail the thread.
 
Last edited:
For those of you that don't know me, I am Mark, Todds brother. When allegations are made they hold no weight until they are backed by fact, so before anyone jumps to conclusions please be aware of this. Anyone can make allegations about anything, that is why we have a court system to make decisions based on facts, not accusations.


To our customers and anyone it may concern,


It is unfortunate that private matters must be brought into the public arena, but at this point there are some false allegations that must be addressed to shed some insight on the situation at hand.


Todd Begg Knives is a legally trademarked name owned by PRIDE IN MAKING PRODUCTS LLC., an LLC which was mutually created and is equally owned by Todd M. Begg, Mark Skaggs and Mattia Borrani. Our LLC partnership was created six years ago with the intent to bring Todd Begg Knives to a broader global audience by making the knives more abundant and accessible to the knife community while still keeping the quality and attention to detail everyone has come to expect from a custom knife.


Regarding Todd’s claims of “knives being produced without his consent, endorsement or permission”, as well as implying the knives we produce are not “genuine”, this is a false statement. Todd is currently and always has been an LLC member and is not at liberty to withdraw endorsements, designs, nor consent. Everything we do here at Todd Begg Knives has been a collaborative effort when it comes to the creation of a knife, and to assume that only one person has the right to control and lay claim to the products we produce is presumptuous and unfounded. By doing so, this affects business agreements and practices which in turn impacts the health and integrity of a company, without any regard for its employees and shareholders.


We have always been very transparent and forthright with what we make here at our factory in California as well as what we make overseas, and we will continue to do so. Our group of skilled engineers and craftsmen will continue to make knives in the same manner that they have been doing for the past six years and, our customers can purchase our knives with confidence while continuing to receive the customer service that they have grown to expect. We are very proud of our team and all the innovations and input they have brought to the table here at Begg Knives and look forward to continuing this in the future.


If our customers and dealers have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us at customerservice@beggknives.com We are happy to answer any inquiries you may have.


Best,


Todd Begg Knives
 
Nephilim Killer said:
For those of you that don't know me, I am Mark, Todds brother. When allegations are made they hold no weight until they are backed by fact, so before anyone jumps to conclusions please be aware of this. Anyone can make allegations about anything, that is why we have a court system to make decisions based on facts, not accusations.


To our customers and anyone it may concern,


It is unfortunate that private matters must be brought into the public arena, but at this point there are some false allegations that must be addressed to shed some insight on the situation at hand.


Todd Begg Knives is a legally trademarked name owned by PRIDE IN MAKING PRODUCTS LLC., an LLC which was mutually created and is equally owned by Todd M. Begg, Mark Skaggs and Mattia Borrani. Our LLC partnership was created six years ago with the intent to bring Todd Begg Knives to a broader global audience by making the knives more abundant and accessible to the knife community while still keeping the quality and attention to detail everyone has come to expect from a custom knife.


Regarding Todd’s claims of “knives being produced without his consent, endorsement or permission”, as well as implying the knives we produce are not “genuine”, this is a false statement. Todd is currently and always has been an LLC member and is not at liberty to withdraw endorsements, designs, nor consent. Everything we do here at Todd Begg Knives has been a collaborative effort when it comes to the creation of a knife, and to assume that only one person has the right to control and lay claim to the products we produce is presumptuous and unfounded. By doing so, this affects business agreements and practices which in turn impacts the health and integrity of a company, without any regard for its employees and shareholders.


We have always been very transparent and forthright with what we make here at our factory in California as well as what we make overseas, and we will continue to do so. Our group of skilled engineers and craftsmen will continue to make knives in the same manner that they have been doing for the past six years and, our customers can purchase our knives with confidence while continuing to receive the customer service that they have grown to expect. We are very proud of our team and all the innovations and input they have brought to the table here at Begg Knives and look forward to continuing this in the future.


If our customers and dealers have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us at customerservice@beggknives.com We are happy to answer any inquiries you may have.


Best,


Todd Begg Knives
Click to expand...

I'm very glad your personal business has become public it allows us to judge the characters of all involved when they think the public isn't looking.
 
When situations like this occur, normally all of the facts aren't revealed from either side. While it is certainly their right to keep "dirty laundry" matters private and out of the public eye, it often leaves the consumer hesitant to do business with one or both of the parties involved which leaves both companies in shambles.

Hopefully this can be resolved amicably so that faith can be restored in all parties. If that happens, I might consider doing business with the companies involved, if it doesn't, my opinion is that my money would be better spent elsewhere.
 
Sad thing is you’re his brother you And you are here to try to explain how you screwing him over is ok. So your brother designed the knives goes into business with you down the road and ya screw him over.? I bet Christmas rocks at your house. Smh money and greed will bring out the worst in people to bad it happened between brothers.
 
Last edited:
Quite interesting that some of you are throwing Mark under the bus, even though you are not privy to any details of the situation. Glad our courts don't function in the same manner.
 
austonh said:
Quite interesting that some of you are throwing Mark under the bus, even though you are not privy to any details of the situation. Glad our courts don't function in the same manner.
Click to expand...
oh that would be a first ;)

sad that there is such Trouble with the brand/design and I am certain the customers will feel some reprecussion one way or the other...
still, it seems like this is once again just base human nature at work, on who's side is not for me to decide.
 
I have no horse in this race but want to address the many “you can’t own someone else’s name” comments—yes, you can, a name (and reputation, and marketing goodwill) can be bought and sold. Sarah Lee, Levi’s, Harley Davidson—it goes on and on. Rights to a name can be bought and sold.

The “don’t go into business with friends or family” is more like don’t fail to do any due diligence or protect your interests just because ‘we’re all friends’. There are MANY successful family businesses, the o nes most likely to succeed have contracts.

It’s interesting the response from Mark above didn’t address the allegations about failing to pay monies owed, even a boilerplate denial. Also the verbiage about Todd Begg not being “at liberty to withdraw endorsements, designs, or consent”, this seems to suggest it’s impossible to dissolve the partnership or entity? Don’t know why any creator or designer would agree to such a contract.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top