GLOBAL ARCHERY ADDRESSES SMEAR CAMPAIGN BY JORDAN GWYTHER

Ashley, IN, February 26, 2016 (Newswire.com) - Global Archery Products, Inc. (“Global”), a company based in Northern Indiana, and Jordan Gwyther, are involved in a dispute that has prompted Mr. Gwyther to post a GoFundMe page in which several misleading statements (e.g. - “The End Of LARP In North America”) have been made by Mr. Gwyther that Global would like to address. 

“There was no attempt made to contact us before the complaint was filed. We are open and hope that an out of court settlement can happen as soon as possible.”

This statement, by Mr. Gwyther, is misleading.  From the very beginning, Mr. Gwyther evaded Global’s attempts to contact him.  An employee of Global called to get Mr. Gwyther’s address, which Mr. Gwyther refused to provide.  It was Global’s intent to send Mr. Gwyther a letter requesting that he cease and desist from what Global believed to be his questionable business practices, primarily the use of our registered trademark Archery Tag® in the promotion of his competing business.  Global’s inability to locate Mr. Gwyther, and Mr. Gwyther’s refusal to provide any physical address, is what ultimately forced Global to file the suit.  As a result, Global hired a process server, who ultimately had to run a skip trace on Mr. Gwyther in an attempt to locate and serve documents on him.  Even the skip trace was unsuccessful in locating an address for Mr. Gwyther. 

Apparently Global is not the only one who has experienced difficulty in resolving business issues with Mr. Gwyther or being able to locate and communicate with him.  For instance, an individual who has ordered product from Mr. Gwyther’s LARP Tents business posted on Facebook on February 10, 2016: “Worst consumer experience ever! Ordered tent as Christmas present on Nov. 18.  After numerous attempts to contact company, finally got FB message from Jordan Gwyther on Dec. 21 claiming delivery issues and delivery in January. As of tonight, no tent.  Numerous calls, emails and FB messages in recent days unanswered by Jordan or anyone at LARP Tents. No one answers phone, the website and this page say nothing of shipping delays or any other issues with honoring orders, and their phone recording still says 2-week delivery. Absolutely the most unprofessional business I’ve ever dealt with. Filed PayPal claim tonight, will file additional complaints tomorrow.”

Another person who has dealt with Mr. Gwyther states: “I made an order on November 1st with LARP Tents claiming a 2 week turn around. Over two months later I still do not have them.  LARP Tents has not responded to Facebook or phone attempts to contact them to resolve the problem. I had to open a Paypal claim to try to get my money refunded. Stay away from this seller. You may pay more for a tent elsewhere, but at least you will receive your tent.” 

“I was hoping to deal with this myself and asked for the case to be dropped at the very beginning, however, it appears clear that he has no intention of doing that.” 

This statement is also misleading.   From the very beginning, Mr. Gwyther has been evasive, uncooperative, and unwilling to settle this matter despite a formal settlement offer, which was rejected; contrary to the fact that our attorney has informed his attorney that Global is willing to negotiate and settle this matter quickly and amicably.  Until Global received Mr. Gwyther’s rejection of its settlement offer, there had been no attempt made by Mr. Gwyther to bring this case to a peaceful conclusion.  In Global’s opinion, it is Mr. Gwyther who does not want to work together to come to a reasonable and amicable resolution of this matter. 

“The money for this Gofundme will be used exclusively to fight this case. Any remainder will be donated to charity.  Fighting the case will include attorney's fees and expenses related to the case.”  

What motivation would someone have to ask for money from hard-working people in order to keep fighting a lawsuit for the sole purpose of using another company’s federally registered trademark in the promotion of his competing products?  In his rejection of our settlement offer, Mr. Gwyther stated that he wanted Global to pay his attorney fees and dismiss the case with prejudice.  Rejecting our settlement offer will only drive up his attorneys’ fees (as well as ours) and his need for more contributions.

“The profit of the arrows has been very little compared to the damages they are seeking.” 

Global has not stated a formal damage amount that it is seeking in the lawsuit; nor has any amount been communicated to him.  The fact is, as clearly indicated in our settlement offer, Global has offered to settle the case for no monetary recovery from Mr. Gwyther. 

Contrary to the image that Mr. Gwyther is attempting to portray of Global, it is Global’s opinion that Mr. Gwyther is attempting to use the publicity he has generated, by what Global believes to be a false and misleading smear campaign about the lawsuit to promote his businesses.  Global is not attempting to stifle Mr. Gwyther’s First Amendment rights.  Global has asked that Mr. Gwyther be prohibited from using false and misleading commercial speech for his personal financial gain.  Global encourages those interested in these proceedings to take the time to read ALL of the court filings regarding the case, which paints a much different picture than the one sided picture that Mr. Gwyther is painting. 

Global has been, and remains, willing to resolve the present dispute with Mr. Gwyther quickly and amicably without the need for expensive litigation.  In our opinion, it is Mr. Gwyther, not Global, that has caused the issues between us and his unwillingness to reasonably negotiate with Global is the reason why the present situation remains unresolved.  Global appreciates those who have been willing to look at ALL of the facts in this case, rather than responding to what Global believes amounts to a fear mongering campaign.