TopDog is back online

(August 6 2002, update August 12 and 13) As reported in our article on "The TopDog Controversy", DC Micro's TopDog domain at www.topdog.com was disconnected due to the conflict with Michael Lange, a former co-worker of DC Micro.

Lange has been selling an alternative version of the TopDog search engine submission and reporting software.

Topdog.com is now back online, as the court appointed Reciever (representative), who controlled the domain name, has given it back to DC Micro.

The Reciever has ordered Lange as well as DC Micro to turn over all gross sales receipts to the Court.

Since topdog.com is back online users of the original DC Micro TopDog can operate normally and make purchases normally, once again.

A confusing tragedy

This conflict is truly confusing, as there are not only two companies selling TopDog software, but also two DC Micros -- one in Georgia and one in Kentucky -- as well as two court cases.

When reading this, keep in mind that the two main parties are DC Micro Kentucky, owned by Ted Ivanchak, who sells the original www.topdog.com version of TopDog, and Michael Lange that sells the TopDog Pro version at topdogsoftware.biz.

Case No. 1: Lange vs. DC Micro in Georgia

Case No. 1 was filed August 3, 2001 in Gwinnett Superior Court, Lawrenceville, Georgia as Michael Lange vs. DC Micro Development, Inc, a Georgia Corporation (i.e not the Kentucky DC), Top Dog Software, Inc., a Georgia Corporation, and David Cecil individually.

Top Dog Software, Inc. of Georgia was dissolved on June 11, 2001, prior to the start of Lange's lawsuit, at Lange's own request. However, it is still part of the lawsuit.

DC Micro Development, Inc. of Georgia was started by Cecil in August, 2000, nearly three years after TopDog had been released and distributed by DC Micro Development, Inc. in Kentucky, a separate corporation. Cecil started the Georgia company as a consulting practice for software development, but it has never been very active. Cecil was earlier involved in the Kentucky version of the company. The court Receiver apparently thinks of DC Micro Kentucky as Lange's opponent.

In the pleadings Mr. Lange claims to have had a partnership with David Cecil personally. Lange has demanded an audit. He accuses Cecil of not paying him his usual royalty check and of unfairly cutting him off from the DC Micro computer accounts and servers.

If we have understood this correctly Lange argues that he has the same right to the original TopDog software as DC Micro, as he allegedly has been involved in the development of the software.

He also argues that he should be allowed to market his version of the software under the same name as the original TopDog software (although with the word "Pro" attached to it).

Having worked in the Norwegian Patent Board we find this quite interesting, as the idea of having two similar products marketed under similar names is in conflict with a basic premise of trade mark law: The consumer should be able to differentiate between related products.

However, there is also another factor to take into consideration. Both Lange and DC Micro want to get access to the earnings made by the other parties. Lange asks for royalties from the DC Micro product and DC Micro will have a piece of the TopDog Pro pie.

The Superior Court of Gwinnett County, the State of Gerogia, has on Lange's request appointed a Reciever (i.e. a kind of official court representative), Ms. Brandyn Briley, for DC Micro Development, Inc. Georgia and Top Dog Software, Inc. .

On April 15 the Reciever ordered Lange to account to the Reciever for the sale and/or license of any TopDog product. On June 6 Lange's attorney informed the Reciever that Lange would start selling his version of TopDog, but that all profits would be deposited to a special account. The Reciever would be informed about all sales/license orders, sales confirmations etc.

On July 19 the Receiver demanded that all parties (i.e. Lange as well as DC Micro) should provide an accounting for sales and turn over gross revenues to the court appointed Reciever no later than July 24.

The Reciever has now filed a motion for contempt against Lange, arguing that Lange is in willful contempt of the Court by failing to provide an accounting and surrender all proceeds from the sale of TopDog Pro. In addition the Reciever requests that the Plaintiff be required to turn over all gross revenue for these sales, not just profits.

Case 2: DC Micro vs. Lange in Kentucky

There is also a parallel federal case in Kentucky - a copyright infringement case against Lange for using the trademark and the components inside TopDog without permission, not just the program itself as a whole. It is unclear when one can expect the results from these proceedings.

The second case was filed in in Federal court in Kentucky as DC Micro Development, Inc. (yes, that's the Kentucky corporation) vs. Michael Lange, Analyst Software, and Website Management Tools.

In the pleadings, Mr Lange is accused of hacking the DC Micro servers on July 24, 2001, stealing customer lists and passwords, taking copies of the TopDog source code, implanting trojan horses into the TopDog program for the purpose of diverting sales into his own bank account and for redirecting users of the original TopDog program to Lange's own web sites, of releasing and selling a counterfeit version of the TopDog program, of using DC Micro's trademarks and logos without permission, and more.

Discussions on the alt.internet.search-engines newsgroup clearly demonstrates that Lange did -- in fact -- fix the TopDog software to direct customers to his alternative Web site, and that he used the DC Micro mailing list to promote his TopDog Pro.

It seems to us the Lange for all practical purposes has ruined the TopDog brand. Readers report that they no longer know who to trust. They wonder which company will survive and if there will be anyone left to give them the service and the update they have paid for. TopDog's competitors are the only parties that benefit from this conflict.

Click here for the previous article on the TopDog controversy.
Click her for our article on Search Engine Commando, the new submission and ranking software from the people behind TopDog.

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