I did not get sued, and it did not go further than this email correspondance.
From: AfraShe Asungi <asungi5@xxxxxx.com> To: aa4@cs.buffalo.edu Cc: asungi5@xxxxx.com Subject: On your use of Afra Peace... i discovered that you are using the name "Afra Ahmad" on the homepage for ministry 1997. i am writing to resepectfully requesting that you cease using this title, since we here at Asungi productions have that word Afra as a registered trademark and we do use it as a VERY speicifc term within our organization and with our member ship ...u might wish to sligthly modify/change it to something like "Afram Amad"...which is VERY close but doen't infringe on our trademark rights... either way we are hopeful that u will be agreeable to our request... peace... AfraShe Asungi
Obviously, this was pointless. These people obviously did not take the time to read my homepage and find that Afra was my name.
This was their reply to my response:
From: Asungi5@xxxxxx.com To: aa4@cs.buffalo.edu Subject: Re: Re: On your use of Afra [My response] Hi, I would like to help you out, but I can't. I was born with the name Afra and therefore, have used it since '77. Other people have also used Afra to refer to me since then. Longer than you have, probably. I am curious. Would you be able to tell me where the name Afra was derived from? Afra Ahmad [Their reply back to me] I must admit that at first i was VERY put off by your attitude in your resonse and then it became clear that you are only 21 or 22 and that often young people often speak very bluntly...but i do see your point...and can even se how if it was the name you rec'vd at birth that you might feel justifed in taking the sort of attitude you did in your reponse....=-) yes...there actually are things which we can do about it...you are VERY WRONG there... ...but our writing to you was not with that intent at all ...in fact if you review our email it was REALLY a queiry as to how/ why you were using the name...right? and having chosen to humourously overlook your walking on the edge of rudeness in your reply will go on to say that ... because of our own personal ethics....we would not find it rigtheous to even try to prohibit someone from using there rightful birthname...that was clearly NOT our point in writing to you... BUT yes we do have rights around how others use this word...AFRA and what it means to YOU doesn't have anything to DO with what it means to us, i'm SURE. BUT YES we know what it MEANS to us...and THAT is what is important here... now...because we really had/have no intent to be rude here or even to play 'big brother' with you...we will say that we can even overstand your little attitude...a bit anyway... =-)... SOOOOOO...we simply will end with making it CLEAR that yes we DO have rights and that while we DO HAVE rights, it is not our own intent to stop someone from using their own personal birth name...but more to prohibit it's public use as a logo/ trademark...which then does infringe on our trademark intent... ...we will even go so far as to say no we WOULDN'T even try to question someone's right to the use to their own birthname...but we do have rights to challenge other public uses beyond personal uses of' Afra' outside of that...but since that is not what you are doing...we will simply wish you luck in your life and bid you "wear your name in wellnes" ...and stay hopeful that you will also see our point for writng to you...in the first place...that is what is most important here...at this point...isn't it? and while we do know various origins and meanings of this name... we would be happy to know the orign of how you came to be named Afra...if you were SERIOUS in your asking us...if not...=-) peace... AfraShe Asungi