Dynamic Sports Nutrition, Inc., owner of Steroid.com website, filed a civil lawsuit in February 2008 against Elite Fitness Inc. and Caliber Design, Inc., owner of EliteFitness.com, requesting injunctive relief for copyright infringement. At issue is the electronic book (ebook) formerly marketed by Elite Fitness entitled “Anabolic Gameplan by Dino Strong.”
An out of court settlement appeared likely until this week when the owner of Elite Fitness sent out an email newsletter which, in part, offered insight into Elite Fitness’ legal strategy to defend themselves against the copyright infringement lawsuit.
So, we’re off to the races defending a lawsuit over something I did not even write and spending thousands in the process. The irony here is that most likely, the judge will find that the copyright for Brian and Anthony’s book is invalid. To add insult to injury, according to my friend Bill Llewellyn, who authors the Anabolics series that he updates every year, Anthony and Brian plagiarized his work extensively when they wrote their book Anabolic Steroids Ultimate Research Guide that they claim Dino infringed. And Bill has agreed to testify on our behalf. The good part of Bill’s testifying is that Anthony and Brian cannot enforce a copyright that is shown to be invalid itself.
In other words, the defense hopes to invalidate the January 26, 2006 certificate of registration for Anabolic Steroids Ultimate Research Guide on file with the United States Copyright Office because the work allegedly infringed on the copyright for Anabolics 2007 by William Llewellyn by copying steroid information tables and charts. Apparently, if the certificate of registration is invalidated, then Elite Fitness believes Dynamic Nutrition no longer has a legal basis to claim copyright infringement.
This is a dispassionate overview of what I believe are the pertinent facts in the legal battle between Steroid.com and Elitefitness.com.
But the public relations battle, no matter how irrelevant to the legal case, will likely overshadow the legal battle, at least on the internet. Anthony Roberts, senior editor of Steroid.com, has been blogging about the deteriorating relationship with Elite Fitness for several months. George Spellwin finally responded publicly with a scathing attack on Anthony Roberts and Steroid.com in an email newsletter to members this week. In response, Anthony Roberts has addressed all allegations with multiple blog entries on his website yesterday and today providing background and insight into the animosity surrounding the lawsuit. Regrettably, I expect the acrimonious exchange to continue to the detriment of all involved.
Arizona could soon be the first state in the country to forbid the use of illegal anabolic steroids in their police officers.
The introduction to the article caught me by surprise. After all, the illegal use of anabolic steroids is already a felony under federal law therefore illegal in ALL states (police officers included). The non-medical use of anabolic steroids is already prohibited by federal law and most state laws; most police departments around the country have explicit policies forbidding illegal steroid use by its officers as well. So, how could Arizona be the first state to ban illegal steroid use by police officers?
After reading the article carefully, it appears the new rules really don’t do anything to further enforce existing rules banning the illegal use of anabolic steroids. Instead, they seek to restrict the “medical use” of anabolic steroids by the officers under its authority.
The new rules give the State the authority to intervene in the doctor-patient relationships of police officers and define the acceptable medical treatment should an officer’s physician prescribe anabolic steroids.
Any officer using injectable anabolic steroids must notify their commander within 72 hours.
They must supply a doctor’s prescription within a week.
The prescription can’t be any stronger than the FDA approved dose of 300 mg per two weeks.
The rules are allegedly needed because some physicians illegally prescribe steroids to police officers. If the steroids are illegally prescribed, why aren’t the physicians targeted? Why are the medical records of officers invaded instead? Why are local police departments given authority to dictate acceptable medical treatment for its officers?
Why does the State of Arizona feel an invasion of medical privacy is justified? Apparently, anabolic steroids become unacceptable the moment an officer starts lifting weights or bodybuilding or getting bigger!
“If somebody needs steroids where they have a disease or they can’t produce testosterone, they’re OK but if someone’s using it to bodybuild or get bigger, they’re not under the protection of the law,” Gutman said.
If the primary concern is hyper-muscular officers or bodybuilding, then perhaps a more effective policy would be to enforce maximum body mass index (BMI) as a condition of employment? Or ban officers from working out?! Of course, that is silly.
“Arizona will be the first state in the nation to protect its police officers from the ill effects of long-term steroids use and protect the public from somebody who has a steroids rage,” Gutman said.
It seems a little hypocritical for state officials to point to protecting the “health” of officers when they send officers out on the street to face violent offenders where they put their life at risk everyday. It seems to me that the best way to protect the short-term and long-term “health” of officers would be to provide them with every possible advantage over their opponents (i.e. dangerous criminals).
MESO-Rx had the opportunity to visit the “Anabolic Network” internet television studio today and see a sneak preview of the upcoming “Anabolic Review” webcast hosted by Anthony Roberts. I was impressed. The production quality exceeds other internet video programming I’ve seen to date in the bodybuilding industry.
The CEO and founder of Steroid.com has made a major initial investment in the future of internet video which places the Anabolic Network in a prime position to capitalize on the convergence of the PC, television and mobile phone. Best of all, the first series will be devoted to the discussion of anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs.
While the Anabolic Review webcast will be the first bodybuilding internet show to be broadcast on the Anabolic Network, there are future plans for additional shows in the future, including some innovative sitcoms.
There are a few other companies that can afford such an investment in internet television, but for now they are mostly content to to release low budget internet videos. Certainly, there are some really good internet bodybuilding videos shows out there, but the established players with deep pockets seem reluctant to make the big investments.
In the meantime, the launch of the Anabolic Network is only days away.
