violation of trademarks?

I own a web site (deadninja.com) and it about a year old. Today I got this in my email...


Your website and entity Dead Ninja, is in violation of our trademarks, Dead Ninja™, Dead Ninja Studios™, Dead Ninja Records™ and Dead Ninja Publishing™ (ASCAP) which are owned by Dead Ninja Records, Corporation.

Dead Ninja Records, Corporation is a C-Class Corporation based and authorized in the State of New York. Our products are recognized worldwide with authorized sales recorded throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Founded in 2005, our brands have been featured in Vibe®, Rollingstone®, VH-1®, MTV®, Billboard®, All Music Guide®, La Familia Network® and soon to be Univision® and NBC® networks.

Your entity violates our trademark by both entering the media industry as a content provider and branding it with a name which can be too easily confused with our brand name. Please remedy this by:

1. Immediately discontinuing the illegal use of our trademark “Dead Ninja”

2. Immediately incorporate the following text as a footnote to all current pages on your website:

a. “Dead Ninja Comic is not affiliated with or authorized by the Dead Ninja Records, Corp or its subsidiaries”

3. Discontinue use of the domain name “deadninja.com” within 90 days

4. Notifying us of implemented remedies in writing, via email or postal mail, and within 10 days of receipt of this message.

Failure to comply with any of the above remedies will result in legal action being filed in the State of New York against named defendants Joseph McDonald doing business as/or under the name Dead Ninja / Dead Ninja Comic, and all implied associates found to have contributed to the trademark breach.

We are and always will be committed supporters of the independent arts, and as such we genuinely wish you continued success in all your endeavors.

Sincerely,
Kaydean
Chief Executive Officer/President
Dead Ninja Records, Corporation


The two sites have nothing in common other than the name. Am I really in violation?

I should note that my site ISN'T a business of any sort. It's a web comic and I do not make money off of it in any way.

When did your site go up?

Hi there,
I was reading the email you received and I really feel for you.
This is my very first post so I apologise if I've mucked it up.
I checked out your site and had a giggle at what I found. Good for you. I don't blame you for being angry. Sometimes there's just no help out there hey?!?
Sorry, I'm no help either but I just wanted to let you know that I sympathise with you.
It's a real worry of what you can and can't do on the net. There are so many sites out there that have copyright images all over them and you wonder how they get away with it. It's our conscience that stops us, that's what it is . . . and that's a good thing to have.
It's a pity you're selling your site. Isn't there anything you can do? Perhaps invent and draw some new characters. You never know . . . you may start something big!
Well, good luck with everything and chin up ok!
Maybe it's meant to be . . . so you create something that no-one on the internet has thought of yet :-)