1 Robert Trevor Simms

2 tauteur@gmail.com
3 Filmchella
4 578 Washington Blvd #435
5 Marina del Rey, CA 90292
6 Telephone: 323-369-5466
7 Defendant
8 In Pro Se
9

10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

11 CENTRAL DISCTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
12 WESTERN DIVISION
13

14
COACHELLA MUSIC Case No.: 2:17-CV-06059
15 FESTIVAL, LLC, and BRO (GJSx)
16 GOLDENVOICE, LLC.
17
DECLARATION OF ROBERT
Plaintiffs TREVOR SIMMS IN
18
OPPOSITION OF PLAINTIFFS
19 v. MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY
20 INJUNCTION
21
ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS. and
DOES 1-20, DATE: September 25, 2017
22
TIME: 1:30 p.m.
23 Defendants. CTRM: 7C
24

25
Hon. Beverly Reid OConnell
26

27

28

-1-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS

 1 I, Robert Trevor Simms, declare as follows:
2

3 1. I graduated from Western Kentucky University in

4
December 2009 with a Bachelors Degree in TV/Film
5

6
Production.
7
2. I moved to Los Angeles, CA in February 2010 to pursue
8

9
a career in the movie industry.
10 3. In 2016 I successfully completed my first feature film
11
Misirlou, that I wrote, produced, directed, starred in, edited,
12

13 and self financed.

14
4. Misirlou premiered in Moscow, Russia in March 2017
15

16 and won best feature film at the Russian International Film

17
Awards. I was in attendance to accept the award. See Exhibit 1.
18

19
5. I have attended many different film festivals, including
20 the Sundance Film Festival and most recently the Grossmanns
21

22
Fantastic Film & Wine Festival in Ljutomer, Slovenia, where
23 Misirlou was an Official Selection as seen in Exhibit 2.
24
6. I have never been to The Coachella Valley Music
25

26 Festival.
27
7. In January 2017 I met a man who is partnered with an
28

-2-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS

 1 outdoor astronomy theater on a campsite near the Coachella
2
Valley region. I asked if it were possible to have a film festival
3

4 there. He said yes.

5
8. I decided to name the event FILMCHELLA. Filmchella
6

7
is set for September 29th 2017.
8 9. I bought the domain name, acquired the social media
9

10
handles, built a website, secured the venue, and began accepting
11 film submissions from filmmakers on and around January 9th,
12
2017.
13

14 10. I mistakenly hired a fraudulent Trademark filing

15
company on January 9th to register the FILMCHELLA Mark
16

17 on my behalf, but due to my inexperience with Trademarks, I

18
was scammed. A receipt for this is seen in Exhibit 3.
19

20
11. On January 23rd, 2017 FILMCHELLA was officially
21 formed as a California Non Profit Organization with the EIN no.
22

23
81-5321714 as seen in Exhibit 4.
24 12. In March 2017, Plaintiff sent an email letter accusing
25
me of Trademark Infringement and Cybersquatting and
26

27 demanded I turn over my www.filmchella.com domain name.

28
Being that there was a website already parked on the domain,
-3-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS

 1 that it was being used in commerce, that it wasnt for sale, and
2
that the Plaintiff does not own the name Filmchella, I
3

4 considered the accusations intimidation tactics and continued my

5
business.
6

7
13. On April 1st, 2017 I successfully filed for a Trademark
8 through the United States Trademark Office for the goods and
9

10
services listed as Film Studio Movie Showings and Planning
11 and Conducting a Series of Film Festivals as seen in Exhibit 5.
14. On April 8th 2017, Nocholas Altree, the Trademark
12

13

14 Examiner, notified me that he was assigning the pseudomark

15
Film Chella as seen in Exhibit 6.
16

17 15. On June 24th 2017, Trademark Examiner Nicholas Altree

18
conducted a trademark search to see if there were any existing
19

20
trademarks that conflict with Filmchella. He found no
21 conflicts. The trademark search was conducted by a computer
22

23
program and then by manually viewing documents. The
24 automated computer search took 13 seconds, and the full search
25
took 24 minutes, 40 seconds. The search looked at a total of 52,
26

27 161 existing trademarks and trademark applications. The search

28
looked for conflicting marks using variants of chella, including:
-4-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS

 1 chella, chela, schella, schela, shella, shela. No conflicts were
2
found as seen in Exhibit 7.
3

4 16. Plaintiffs event, The Coachella Valley Music and Arts

5
Festival, has never had a film festival component to its program.
6

7
17. Plaintiffs Trademark Coachella is the name of the
8 geographical location in which we both hold events. Exhibit 8.
9

10
18. Plaintiff has no rights to the Mark FILMCHELLA.
11 19. Plaintiff has never used the Mark CHELLA for
12
anything other than T-Shirts.
13

14 20. Plaintiffs Trademark 1b application for Chella in

15
Arranging, organizing, conducting, and hosting social
16

17 entertainment events; Entertainment, namely, production of

18
musical events; Organizing cultural and arts events is
19

20
incomplete, as they have not yet shown usage. See Exhibit 9.
21 21. On or around June 13th, 2017 Skip Paige, Goldenvoices
22

23
Chief Operating Officer, contacted me and invited me in for a
24 meeting in his Downtown Los Angeles Office. Also in
25
attendance at the meeting was Gopi Sangha. Plaintiffs said they
26

27 were a supporter of film festivals and offered to help me with my

28
festival. There was no mention of Trademark Infringement or
-5-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS

 1 Cybersquatting. There was no mention of the names
2
FILMCHELLA or FILMCHILLA until I was exiting the
3

4 meeting when I asked Gopi where we stand on the name. Gopi

5
replied by saying, Im not an attorney, but you might be able to
6

7
squeeze that one by (in reference to Filmchilla). Email
8 correspondence in regards to this meeting can be seen in Exhibit
9

10
10.
11 22. The Trademark application for FILMCHELLA was
advanced to Publication on July 19th 2017 as seen in Exhibit 11.
12

13

14 23. On August 8th 2017 the United State Patent &

15
Trademark Office approved FILMCHELLA for publication. A
16

17 screenshot of an Official Notice of Publication Confirmation

18
email from the USPTO can be seen in Exhibit 12.
19

20
24. On August 8th 2017, Plaintiff opposed my Trademark.
21 25. On August 9th 2017 I filed for a Motion to Extend time
22

23
to file my Trademark Opposition Answer.
24 26. On August 10th 2017 Plaintiff sent me an email saying
25
he is going to sue me as seen in Exhibit 13.
26

27 27. Plaintiff has known about Defendants use of the Mark

28
since March of 2017, but has waited six months to file this
-6-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS

 1 applicationuntil the Filmchella Trademark was approved.
2
28. Plaintiff alleges that there is a likelihood of confusion
3

4 and that I am using the same well-known design as the Plaintiffs

5
Mark. This is not true. My design has its own very distinctive
6

7
style, appearance, meaning, pronunciation, and commercial
8 impression. See Exhibit 14.
9

10
29. I have been using my own distinctive design
11 consistently since January 4th, 2017 as seen in Exhibit 15.
12
30. The advertisement included in Plaintiffs complaint
13

14 used in the comparison alleging that I used the same well-known

15
design was not created or advertised by me, but by an eager
16

17 stranger who replied to a Craigslist advertisement Defendant

18
posted for festival volunteers. I was unaware this flier used the
19

20
same font style as COACHELLA. The email from the
21 volunteer applicant who made the poster can be seen in Exhibit
22

23
16.
24 31. There are many businesses in the region that use
25
COACHELLA and CHELLA in their business name and are
26

27 using the Mark to describe the region, the mountains, and the
28
valley, not to infringe on Plaintiffs Marks. See Exhibits 17 &
-7-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS

 1 18.
2
32. The Trademark Manual Examining Procedure states
3

4 that the first word of a Mark is considered the dominant portion

5
of the Mark and if the first word or letter of the two Marks is
6

7
different, there is less likelihood of confusion. FILM is
8 entirely different from COACH.
9

10
33. Lollapalooza, a music festival very similar to
11 Plaintiffs, was trademarked in 1993, see EXHIBIT 19, and has
12
arguably developed secondary meaning to its suffix Palooza
13

14 related to its festival, just like the Plantiff argues is the case for
15
Chella. However, there have been hundreds of festivals, not
16

17 only created but also Trademarked, ending with Palooza, and

18
none of which are likely to be confused with Lollapalooza.
19

20
See Exhibit 20.
21 34. Plaintiff alleges I have been using the phrase Coachella
22

23
for Movies, however, upon complaint from Plaintiff, I havent
24 mentioned Coachella in my media since March 2017, even
25
though it is the name of the geographical region since the 1940s.
26

27 My up to date website can be examined in Exhibit 21.

28
35. Plaintiff constantly sells out all of its festivals tickets
-8-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS

 1 within the first day of sales opening as seen in Exhibit 22,
2
showing that its fear that it will not be selling tickets is
3

4 unfounded.
5
36. Plaintiff argues that my festival is unprofessionally run
6

7
due to venue cancels, dates being pushed back, and personnel at
8 times distancing themselves from the festival; all of these
9

10
occurrences having been caused by the constant harassment from
11 the Plaintiff maliciously accusing me of cybersquatting and
12
trademark infringement.
13

14 37. Plaintiff has tried numerous times to shut down my

15
Eventbrite ticketing platform as seen in EXHIBIT 23, proving
16

17 they are actively trying to sabotage my business. To clarify,

18
AEG Presents is the parent company of Plaintiff as seen in the
19

20
bottom right portion of the screen grab in EXHIBIT 24 from
21 AEG Presents website www.aegpresents.com under the headline
22

23
AEG Presents Companies.
24 38. Plaintiff is seeking to seriously curtail my ability to earn
25
a livelihood as a film exhibitor. If this Court were to enjoin a
26

27 scheduled show, there would be significant unwarranted

28
restrictions on my ability to advertise future shows.
-9-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS

 1 39. To further cement the fact that there is no likelihood of
2
confusion, the wide publicity given to Coachella suing
3

4 Filmchella has made sure everyone knows they are not the same,
5
or run by the same people. See the article in the Hollywood
6

7
Reporter in Exhibit 25.
8

10
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the
11 United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct,
and that this declaration is executed on September 2nd 2017, in
12

13

14 Los Angeles, California.

15

16

17 __________________________
18
Robert Trevor Simms
19

20

21

22

23
Respectfully Submitted,
24 Dated: September 2, 2017 By: /s/ Robert Trevor Simms
25

26

27

28

-10-

DECLARATION OF ROBERT TREVOR SIMMS







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8/28/2017 MISIRLOU

Slo (/filmski-program/torture-garden/misirlou/) | Eng

HOME (/HOME/) NEWS (/NEWS/) TICKETS (/TICKETS/) SCHEDULE (/SCHEDULE/) FILM PROGRAM (/FILM-PROGRAM/) WINE PROGRAM (/WINE-PROGRAM/)
ACCOMPANYING PROGRAM (/ACCOMPANYING-PROGRAM/) JURIES (/JURIES/) GUESTS (/GUESTS/) AWARDS (/AWARDS/) PRESS (/PRESS/) ARCHIVE (/ARCHIVE/)
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL (/ABOUT-THE-FESTIVAL/) LODGING (/LODGING/) CONTACTS (/CONTACTS/) EFFFF (/EUROPEAN-FANTASTIC-FILM-FESTIVALS-FEDERATION/) VENUES (/VENUES/)

(/)
13th FANTASTIC FILM AND WINE FESTIVAL / 11 - 15 July 2017 / Ljutomer / Slovenia / EU

Opening lm (/lm-program/metropolis-en-GB/) | Vicious Cat (/lm-program/vicious-cat-en-GB/) |

Out of Competition (/lm-program/out-of-competition/) | Retrospective: Harry Kmel (/lm-program/retrospective-harry-k-mel/) |
Retrospective: Sergio Stivaletti (/lm-program/retrospective-sergio-stivaletti/) | Noisy Cat (/lm-program/noisy-cat/) |
Slak's Vicious Cat (/lm-program/slak-s-vicious-cat/) | Melies d'argent (/lm-program/melies-d-argent-en-GB/) |
Iron Sky over Laibach (/lm-program/iron-sky-over-laibach-en/) | Enchanted Cinema (/lm-program/enchanted-cinema/) |
Torture Garden (/lm-program/torture-garden-en-GB/) | On the Fantastic Side of the Alps (/lm-program/on-the-fantastic-side-of-the-alps/)

MISIRLOU
USA; 2016; 85 min; English language

Written and directed by: Trevor Simms Guest:

Cinematography by: Trevor Simms Trevor Simms
Music by: Jesse Voccia
Cast: Trevor Simms, Larry Bishop, Tom Sizemore,
Adam Huss, Jacqui Holland, Jordan Monaghan
Produced by: Trevor Simms
Production company: True Auteur Pictures
Genre: action, thriller

West, a Veteran, comes to Venice Beach and meets an acid headed surf gang who are killing people for a psychedelic drug out
of the victim's adrenal glands.

http://www.grossmann.si/lm-program/torture-garden-en-GB/misirlou-en-GB/ 1/2






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EXHIBIT 5





Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.
PTO Form 1478 (Rev 09/2006)
OMB No. 0651-0009 (Exp 02/28/2018)

Trademark/Service Mark Application, Principal Register

TEAS Plus Application
Serial Number: 87395026
Filing Date: 04/01/2017

NOTE: Data fields with the * are mandatory under TEAS Plus. The wording "(if applicable)" appears where the field is only mandatory
under the facts of the particular application.

The table below presents the data as entered.

Input Field Entered

TEAS Plus YES
MARK INFORMATION
*MARK filmchella
*STANDARD CHARACTERS YES
USPTO-GENERATED IMAGE YES
LITERAL ELEMENT filmchella
The mark consists of standard characters, without claim to any particular font
*MARK STATEMENT
style, size, or color.
REGISTER Principal
APPLICANT INFORMATION
*OWNER OF MARK Simms, Robert Trevor
*STREET 578 Washington Blvd #435
*CITY Marina del Rey
*STATE
(Required for U.S. applicants)
California

*COUNTRY United States

*ZIP/POSTAL CODE
(Required for U.S. applicants)
90292

PHONE 3233695466
EMAIL ADDRESS filmchella@gmail.com
AUTHORIZED TO COMMUNICATE VIA EMAIL Yes
WEBSITE ADDRESS http://www.filmchella.com
LEGAL ENTITY INFORMATION
*TYPE INDIVIDUAL
* COUNTRY OF CITIZENSHIP United States
GOODS AND/OR SERVICES AND BASIS INFORMATION
* INTERNATIONAL CLASS 041







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EXHIBIT 11


 UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

Commissioner for Trademarks

P.O. Box 1451
Alexandria, VA 22313-1451
www.uspto.gov
Jul 19, 2017

NOTICE OF PUBLICATION
1. Serial No.: 2. Mark:
87-395,026 FILMCHELLA
(STANDARD CHARACTER MARK)

3. International Class(es):
41

4. Publication Date: 5. Applicant:

Aug 8, 2017 Simms, Robert Trevor

The mark of the application identified appears to be entitled to registration. The mark will, in accordance with Section 12(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946, as amended, be
published in the Official Gazette on the date indicated above for the purpose of opposition by any person who believes he will be damaged by the registration of the mark. If no
opposition is filed within the time specified by Section 13(a) of the Statute or by rules 2.101 or 2.102 of the Trademark Rules, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks may
issue a certificate of registration.

Copies of the trademark portion of the Official Gazette containing the publication of the mark may be obtained from:
The Superintendent of Documents
U.S. Government Printing Office
PO Box 371954
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954
Phone: 202-512-1800

By direction of the Commissioner.

Email Address(es):

filmchella@gmail.com
tauteur@gmail.com






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Word Mark LOLLAPALOOZA

Goods and IC 016. US 038. G & S: posters. FIRST USE: 19910700. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19910700
Services
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: [ arranging and conducting a national tour of large-scale rock concerts featuring
multiple well-known musical groups and bands; ] arranging and conducting festivals featuring musical groups,
rock music, and booths that distribute literature and information on public-interest issues and also distribute arts
and crafts items which are related to rock music. FIRST USE: 19910700. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE:
19910700
Mark
Drawing (1) TYPED DRAWING
Code
Serial
74246001
Number
Filing Date February 13, 1992
Current
1A
Basis
Original
1A
Filing Basis
Published
for January 5, 1993
Opposition
Registration
1761304
Number
Registration
March 30, 1993
Date
Owner (REGISTRANT) FARRELL, PERRY INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES 16000 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 600 c/o
David Weise & Associates Encino CALIFORNIA 91436

(LAST LISTED OWNER) LOLLAPALOOZA, LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY DELAWARE C/O DEBLOIS,
MEJIA & KAPLAN, LLP 9171 WILSHIRE BLVD., #300 BEVERLY HILLS CALIFORNIA 90210
Assignment

ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Recorded

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Serial Number Reg. Number Word Mark Check Status Live/Dead

1 87493565 BINGE-A-PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
2 87351300 MARBLE-PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
3 87288719 MANGO PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
4 87533643 MODOPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
5 87511969 SICKLEPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
6 87424019 BRUNCH-A-PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
7 87502049 VINO-PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
8 87347047 PIGAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
9 87492331 STARTUP PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
10 87332143 COMICPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
11 87189471 5204257 SNEAKERPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
12 87183021 5191164 PATRIOT PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
13 87019693 5188238 WINE-A-PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
14 87239034 ENTREPALOOZA! TSDR LIVE
15 87105180 5175300 PURSE A PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
16 87270191 HEALTHYPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
17 87068299 5149903 LOLLY PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
18 87238703 PONG-A-PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
19 87229829 BALLOONA PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
20 87072778 5140556 SWANAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
21 87227687 PANCAKE PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
22 87091022 5137488 PALOOZA TRUST TSDR LIVE
23 87219550 FITNESSPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
24 87031367 5104890 WRESTLEPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
25 87113847 CURLPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
26 87134419 MR. PALOOZA TSDR LIVE

27 87134410 MRS. PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
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Word Mark Live/Dead
Number Number Status
51 86323112 4681744 MONEYPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
52 86096493 4626180 OLIVEPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
53 86124612 4567524 DRINK-A-PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
54 85271174 4073363 FOODIEPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
55 85559450 4221715 BURGERPALOOZA! TSDR LIVE
56 85350407 4296182 PLAYGROUND PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
57 85679278 4301011 WISPAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
58 85679272 4301010 WISPAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
59 85039537 3870711 PUMPKIN PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
60 85328296 4846226 OOHLAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
61 85775709 4367722 WODAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
62 85484916 4582471 AQUAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
63 85484905 4590968 AQUAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
64 85964306 4480554 PALOOZA PACKAGE TSDR LIVE
65 85755048 4576551 SURGIPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
66 85754855 4576550 SURGIPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
67 85394759 4248464 CO-OPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
68 85232234 4022382 BE CH PALOOZA OBSTACLE RUN SERIES TSDR LIVE
69 85976419 4151793 DRINK-A-PALOOZA TSDR LIVE
70 85902698 4439862 MOLARPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
71 85829904 4395724 RUGAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
72 85813564 4417419 ITPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
73 85796028 4371941 PARTYPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
74 85791540 4387263 BALLAPALOOZA TSDR LIVE
75 85787861 4405960 LOCALPALOOZA TSDR LIVE

76 85769279 4338817 PENNY PALOOZA TSDR LIVE

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