DMCA COPYRIGHT PROTECTION 93487 TAKE DOWN

DMCA-CASE#93487  COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
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PUBLISHED DATE:  MARCH 2017
IMPORTANT: The information below was believed to be correct at the time of writing. If anything is disputed by Rudi Slabbinck then he should contact us and explain when we will gladly open dialogue.

ACTION: TO TAKE DOWN COPYCAT WEBSITES DUE TO BREACH OF COPYRIGHT / NON PERMITTED USE OF LOGO / BRAND / CONTENT
PERPETRATOR: Rudi Slabbinck (resides in Aspe, Spain)
COMPANY NAME: Costa Blanca Villas AOF (Belgium)

ALLEGED MISDEMEANOURS:
1) The deliberate purchase and copycat use of “hondon villas” as Top Level domain names similar to ours and to use them maliciously and fraudulently
2) Creating and promoting a “copycat website” using the Hondon Villas brand name, font style and colours of the long established good name of “Hondon Villas” ( .net based in Frailes) including the name, logo and similar colours which was established before 2010
3) Deliberately copying and using original and copyright website content, key phrases and other general items without Hondon Villas (.net) express permission.

COMPLAINT BY:
Hondon Villas  (.net) / Maureen Cook
Hondon de los Frailes
Original domain HONDONVILLAS.NET

GENERAL PRE-FACTS:
www.hondonvillas.net is a registered domain (since 2010)
. It is officially and currently registered by Mr. Derek Cook on behalf of Hondon Villas ( based in Hondon de los Frailes, Spain). We have applied for national registration of this company name. This domain hosts the main Hondon Villas (.net) website for property sales (inmobiliaria) and has done since 2010.

Further Hondon Villas (.net) use many other on-line portals, sister websites and collaborators branded or under the group name “Hondon Villas”.

ADDRESS:
Hondon Villas (.net) are a bona fida real state agent in the Hondon Valley area of Spain. Hondon Villas (.net) have legal offices and employ paid staff in the central plaza Hondon de los Frailes. (Calle Juan Carlos #24)

The official and main Hondon Villas (.net) website has been in use since 2010 to publish and sell local property in and around the Hondon Valley area. Our clients are both local sellers and international buyers (English, Dutch, Belgium, French, etc). Hondon Villas are an established business and well known to the are. The main office is a real bricks & mortar dwelling in the high street which has and still is open 5 days per week for about five years.

A typical view of the Hondon Villas logo and brand colours.

Our main branding and logo (a distinctive green and dark blue) adorn our office windows, office stationery, off-line and on-line advertising, business cards and on-line publicity such as social media. The green/blue Hondon Villas logo and brand was designed in 2010. We have used it every since.

THE MAIN COMPLAINT:
Another person “Rudi Slabbinck” recently registered two domains: hondonvillas.be and hondonvillas.eu (in late Feb 2017) as confirmed by the domain registers.

Rudi Slabbinck has hosted and publish content on both these websites. Hondon Villas believe is a deliberate attempt to use or simulate the original brand and colours and could deceive or confuse the general public by using our Company name “Hondon Villas”. The use of a very similar logo to the original brand colours (green / navy blue) and font style is a deliberate act.

Plus, Rudi Slabbinck has in the past copied verbatim some of Hondon Villas (.net) original and copyright material, search keywords and the general layout of our web site design. Rudi Slabbinck has done this on these two new sites, including similar footers, email address and layout. Sites (we know of) that use similar or copyright material without permission. (at the time of writing this)

costablanca-villas.immo (his main website)
hondonvillas.be
huizeninspanje.info
housesinspain.info
aspevillas.com
hondon-propertyagent.com

BACKGROUND:
Rudi Slabbinck is well aware of our brand and websites. Indeed he has met Maureen of Hondon Villas (.net) many times. Maureen sold him and his wife a house in Albatera in 2014. He has visited the Hondon Villas (.net) office in Frailes in the past. Indeed, he and his wife attended the Hondon Villas Office inauguration four years ago (we have a picture). He has communicated with the office staff and in general well knows our brand, logo and has experienced our real estate services first hand. He would know 100% of our brand and logo.

Rudi Slabbinck has a history of both copying and copyright infringement to include textual content, images and “search engine optimisation” from other websites. This is includes recently

falsely claiming and displaying the AIPP member’s badge on all his websites (he was found out and asked to remove them) …

and used original images from a Portugal based real estate agent called IRG Property without their permission.

Rudi Slabbinck’s website has boasted (in the footer and other places) that he has traded since 2006, however he only came to Spain in 2013 and was previously, we believe was a seller of ceramic tiles in Belgium before that.

They turned their house in Albatera into a Bed and Breakfast. He ran this with his wife illegally (not registered) and did not pay any tax on rental income (Rudi admits this many times).

Rudi, nor his partner Conney, have any previous Real Estate experience. He did some translations from English to Dutch for Hondon Villas. That is our association with him but we found that he was poaching business from other agents in the area. We agreed amicably that he had become disloyal, and so we no longer had a working relationship with him.

The Bed and Breakfast “La Huerta” in Albatera failed in 2015 so and he and his wife returned to Belgium. They had to sell the B&B.

RudiSlabbinck and his partnerhave returned to Spain (about August 2016). They live and trade from their home in Aspe.
Costa Blanca Villas. www.costablanca-villas.immo
Calle Aitana 21,
03680 Aspe, Inland Alicante
Costa Blanca
Spain

Currently his websites claim his company is CEPI-CEI (EU Real Estate Organisation) member but he cannot be found on their register and is now being investigated by CEPI for potential mus-representing an organisation’s membership. Hondon Villas (.net) have on several occasions asked Rudi to remove our copyright material, logos and copyright content from his websites. We have repeatedly asked him in the past to stop using our material but continues to use our original material and design ideas. He has compiled in most instances but with every new site he build he feels he can copy our material without permission again.

NO PERMISSION GIVEN
To BE CLEAR Hondon Villas rarely give permission to other agents to use our original logo, material, articles or images. We 100% never gave Rudi Slabbinck permission to use any Hondon Villas material or branding on any of his websites and we certainly do not tolerate copycat websites.

These two new sites were registered by Rudi Slabbinck and have gone direct live within two days. We strongly believe Rudi Slabbdinck (the domain register and competitor agent) uses our copy, content, images and SEO keywords to bolster his web presence. In our opinion, Rudi Slabbinck’s actions are a deliberate case of Copycat tactics.

We believe (at time of writing) Rudi’s sites infringe on our brand, logo and content. Hondon Villas would strongly argue that these new sites (.eu and .be) are a deliberate attempt to copy, confuse and disrupt our SEO Ranking and in particular our customer base and to the untrained eye is easly comparable in form and brand to our own www.hondonvillas.net website. This could, we beleive, result in loss of business, bad feeling, buyer confusion and set a precedent for similar unprofessional behaviour from other agents.

Original website : http://www.hondonvillas.net (since 2010)
Copycat website 1: http://www.hondonvillas.be  (since Feb 2017)
Copycat website 2: http://www.hondonvillas.eu  (since Feb 2017)

ITEMISED NOTES OF COMPLAINT

The following are examples of possible copyright infringement. Screen prints are taken during the last week in February 2017 / first week March 2017 unless other wise stated. The reader can judge for themselves the possible misdemeanours here or their similarity between the original or copycat.

Hondon Villas Logo & Slogan
The original Hondon Villas logo was designed in 2009. The colours used are a mid green, dark blue and white. Depending on the page background these colours are sometimes inter-mixed. So on a dark background the logo may have white writing. The font is a “sans-serif” Calibri font typeface (c/o Microsoft). Both the logos below use the same font and similar colours. The “strapline” slogan is again similar. Hondon Villas have consistently used “Buy, Sell or Rent”. You can see that the copycat logo uses “Buy, Build or Sell”.

Original versud copycat Logo

Website Header, Email, Contact and Social Media Icons
Integral to the real Hondon Villas website is our contact details in the top-right corner. The copycat site is using a similar layout, font and style. Even the email address is similar.

Header copied?

USE OF “HONDON VILLAS” in CAPITALS
The copycat sites extensively use the term “Hondon Villas” usually in green text to suggest the word is an entity and a company. The copycat sites refer to the “Hondon Villas Team” or say “Hondon Villas” is part of a large Grupo company.

INFERRING “HONDON VILLAS” IS IN A GRUPO
The copycat website infers that “Hondon Villas” (.be) is in a bigger group (grupo). It is not – In fact this serves to confuse (or deceive) the reader! To be clear Rudi Slabbinck is a one-man band running at least 7 websites with different names and domains. He operates from a bedroom office and a car in Aspe. There is no Grupo to our knowledge. Rudi Slabbinck is a Belgium autonomo (self-employed).

EXPERIENCE? TRADING FOR MANY YEARS?
The real Hondon Villas (.net) was started by Maureen & Derek Cook in 2007 as a free property portal. In 2010 they registered the .NET domain name to make an official business after Maureen changed jobs. Maureen is and has been an Estate Agent for about 35 years, trained in the UK and Spain in the last 12 years. She was trained and worked for some of the biggest Real Estate companies in the UK and Medsea PLC in Spain.

The copycat sites claim copyright and trading for many years, since 2006. As Rudi Slabbinck only arrived in Spain about 2013, failed a B&B so left to go back to Belgium in 2015 and returned August 2016. It simply is not possible fro Rudi to claim trading since 2006, certainly not in Spain. Nor did Rudi have previous Real Estate experience. He stated that he sold ceramic tiles in Belgium (although we have not traced that fact).

MISUSE OF AIPP MEMBER’s LOGO
Reported and taken down

MISUSE OF CEPI-CEI MEMBERS LOGO
Badge in Footer

MISUSE OF OTHER’s IMAGES
Portugal IRG

A New Life in the Sun

Hondon is on UK TV ... Nigel and Jane, from The Wirral (UK) who have recently relocated to the beautiful Hondon Valley to start “A New Life in the Sun”, the very name of the TV program they are featured in, on Channel 4 (UK) in Feb’ 2018.

Nigel and Jane, Barbarroja

Their new home is “La Casa Blanca” a former 5 bedroom B&B in the glorious Hondon countryside, near Barbarroja (03689, Spain).

Hondon Villas helped Nigel and Jane find their new life and dream home in the sun. We wish, but know they will make a success of thier adventure. Excited!

A Place in the Sun visit the Hondon Valley.

Hondon Villas are regular contributors to Channel 4 (UK) property programs, A Place In The Sun. It’s a fascinating journey anf interesting experience to be part of. Having met many of the program presenters and prospective buyers it’s a pleasure to help them and we look forward to helping them again.

320 Elche Detached Villa

Hondón Villas are delighted to bring onto the market this lovely detached villa located in the city of Elche and close to all of its amenities.

This property boasts of many great features. Comprising of 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms (1 en-suite), it also offers a spacious lounge/dining room with feature fireplace and a fully fitted kitchen.

Set in 4200m2 fenced plot, the outside space also offers many opportunities with its BBQ area and variety of fruit & shade trees. Moreover, the property also counts with a private swimming pool and tennis court.

All in all, we find this traditionally styled Spanish villa to be a must view property!

MORE DETAILS HERE…

#333: La Montanosa New Build Detached Villa

This is your chance to put your own mark on a new build villa in the Hondon Valley, Spain! ONLY 6 AVAILABLE!

Hondon Villas are delighted to be a chosen partner for the construction of 6 brand new off plan properties on the popular and established La Montanosa Urb. in Hondon de las Nieves.

Key Features

Detached modern style villa • Private swimming pool • New build off plans • 3 bedrooms • 2 bathrooms (1 en-suite) • Fitted kitchen • Open plan lounge/diner • Solarium • Electric windows • Many extras • Quiet urbanisation • Spectacular views • Large plots •

There will be 6 modern 3 bed 2 bath detached villas each with its own private 6x3m pool included in the price. The popular residential area of La Montanosa is mid way between the two villages of Hondon de las Nieves and Hondon de los Frailes. The properties are set just a couple of minutes walk from the beautiful La Finca restaurant and bar which is located in a renovated finca with bar, restaurant, games area, courtyard restaurant, terrace and pool.

Inside, the properties comprise the following: a large open plan lounge / diner with American style kitchen, fitted with top class units.

There will be three double size bedrooms all with fitted wardrobes, the master also having its own en-suite facility.

Moreover, there is a large family bathroom and a handy utility room.

From the lounge and the master bedroom there are patio doors leading to the outside area where you will have a 6x3m private swimming pool.

Also, outside of the building you will find stairs leading up to a large rooftop solarium where you can admire the spectacular views of the surrounding Hondón Valley countryside.

The villas will be fitted with electric windows and pre-installation A/C. The 410m2 plots will be fully enclosed with gate entrance for vehicles and also a pedestrian side gate.

» BOOK A VIEWING NOW :   | » MORE LA MONTANOSA VILLAS HERE

The plots are set on the popular urbanisation of La Montañosa, nestled between Hondón de los Frailes and Hondón de las Nieves. Just a five minute drive to all amenities (shops, bars, restaurants and more!) and a 45 minute drive from Alicante-Elche airport and coast.

This is your chance to own a brand new modern villa -with your own personal touch- in one of the most popular regions of Spain… don’t miss out book your viewing now as there will be JUST 6 villas in total built in 2 phases.

Semana Santa 2018 Elche

Easter in Spain is a very special time.  Your local city or town will have some kind of festival, mostly religious. The parades are amazing, some solemn and very serious but others colourful and joyous. You should see them. YouTube has many Semana Santa videos to watch, including Elche and Alicante, the nearest cities to the Hondon Valley.

Over the Easter period, thirty one brotherhoods made up of about 7,000 devotees participate in Elche’s Holy Week processions. They organise and enact 33 processions starting on the morning of Palm Sunday and concluding on Resurrection Sunday. There are parades, beautiful floats, ceremonies, drum bands, music and food. Many many children dress up and march too. 100,000’s of people attend to make a great atmosphere.

» Check the Elche Tourist website.

The procession of Palm Sunday was declared of International Tourist Interest on July 22, 1997.

Palm Sunday and dates back to 15th century with the foundation of the religious brotherhood known as La Cofradía de la Sangre de Cristo. The Municipal Council of Elche agreed to allocate the celebration to include processions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday following. It’s a long one!

Elche Semana Santa
Elche Semana Santa Procession (Costa Blanca Org)

Cristo Nazareno (Christ of Nazareth) can be seen carried in the “Passion of Christ” parade on Good Friday. Also the festival goers will see images of Our Lady known as the La Virgen de la Soledad. Elche’s main cathedral of Santa Maria is a focal point of course. The city looks great and welcomes tourists.

The white palms procession on Palm Sunday has its origins in Jerusalem, where it was celebrated as a reminder of the triumphal entry of The Lord into the Holy City.  During the Middle Ages this procession acquired great importance occupying the centre of the celebration with white palm also introduced into the procession of bouquets. it is also the custom to hang blessed palms on people’s balconies of  Elche. This custom is a symbol of protection of the house, as the palm has been blessed.

Also, you can visit the “Mercado de Palma Blanca”, and other attractions, bars, restaurants in the week before and after Palm Sunday. Enjoy a day in Elche over Easter… it’s a real treat into Spanish culture and family life.

Success! Our Satisfied Buyers

Happy ClientsGwenda Gallagher says:
After months of trawling through websites, emailing agents and viewing trips without any success, I found www.hondonvillas.net and I’m so glad I did. Their website looked very professional and full of useful information so I thought I’d give them a try.

Most agents didn’t really listen to my requirements but when I met with Mo and Irene it was a different story. By the time I’d arrived in Spain, they had a number of properties lined up for me to view, all of which matched my requirements exactly. In fact, I decided on the first property I viewed. Dealing with all the paperwork was easy, Mo guided me through it all step by step and when it came to moving in, I arrived at the house at 3am to find that someone had been there before me, put some lights on and left basics such as coffee, milk and sugar in the kitchen – I’m not aware of any other agents that go the extra mile to make you feel welcome.

The fantastic team at Hondon Villas have kept regular contact with me to make sure there are no problems and have always been willing to help and give advice on all aspects of moving abroad. I’m very happy with the service I’ve received from Hondon Villas, so much so that I’m in the process of buying my house through them. I wish them every success in the future.”


Maureen and her team genuinely care about all the people they work with. They put all their clients at ease and never place them under any pressure. The excellent after sales care continues well beyond the purchase or sale of your house and goes the extra mile time and time again. We would definitely not be enjoying a wonderful new life in Costa Blanca without Hondon Villas’ help. : RICHARD & SANDRA


Professional Estate AgentWe moved to Spain just over a year ago and can honestly say that we would have been lost at times without Mo and her team. We are in our 2nd rental property since moving here, both through Hondon Villas and are in the process of buying our house, again through Hondon Villas. We can’t thank Mo and her team enough for all their help and advice during our settling in period. The professionalism, motivation and genuine desire to meet their client’s needs has convinced us that we made the right choice over all the other agents we contacted. Keep up the good work!” – BRUCE SANGSTER


 

Hondon… The Good Life: Part 1 Natural Beauty

Peaceful, Friendly, Warm and surrounded by Scenic Beauty.

The main two villages of Hondon de las Nieves and Hondon de los Frailes nest in the beautiful Hondon Valley. For decades they have grown an abundance of agricultural delights such as Grapes, Almonds and Olives (the main economy).

Hondon’s Grapes & Almonds

The area is well known for its Grape Vines, Wine and Almond Groves. It is sometimes called ‘The Valley of the Vines’. For the ramblers the mountain climb / walks are a superb way of experiencing fresh air, exercise, rural Spain and incredible vistas.

Hondon is surrounded by an expanse of stunning mountain views and traditional arid Spanish countryside. These excellent vistas are a delight in all seasons! Take a walk or drive through the country roads and you will just marvel at the changing light, shadows and picturesque skies.

The Hondon Valley is well known for its mild climate and pleasant summer breezes, which is very welcoming in those hot summer months when temperatures rarely fall below 30 degrees. The region enjoys sunshine in excess of 310 days per year, where the air is very clean and the pace of life slow. Hondon offers a very peaceful and stress free life.

Come take a look at the Valley of the Vines, drink the local wine under the bluest of skies and feel the warmth of the Spanish sun on your face … and you’re hooked! We were! We love it!

INTERESTED? CONTACT HONDON VILLAS:
Email: property @ hondonvillas.net
Tel: OFFICE: (0034) 965 075 357

WEBSITES & SOCIAL MEDIA:
UK Site: http://www.hondonvillas.net
NL/BE: http://www.hondonvillas.nl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hondonvillas/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hondonagent
Blog: http://www.villasinhondon.net/

Hondon… The Good Life: Part 2 Market Day

One of the nicest days to visit the Hondon Valley is on Market Day, every Saturday in the lovely Hondon de las Nieves. You can shop for fresh produce or clothes, meet with friends for drinks or just enjoy the tranquil ambience over a brandy, coffee or a tostado or tapa. Hondon Villas wish you The Good Life!

The main two villages of Hondon de las Nieves and Hondon de los Frailes nest in the beautiful Hondon Valley. For decades they have grown an abundance of agricultural delights such as Grapes, Almonds and Olives (the main economy).

Hondon is surrounded by an expanse of stunning mountain views and traditional arid Spanish countryside. These excellent vistas are a delight in all seasons! Take a walk or drive through the country roads and you will just marvel at the changing light, shadows and picturesque skies.

The Hondon Valley is well known for its mild climate and pleasant summer breezes, which is very welcoming in those hot summer months when temperatures rarely fall below 30 degrees. The region enjoys sunshine in excess of 310 days per year, where the air is very clean and the pace of life slow. Hondon offers a very peaceful and stress free life.

Come take a look at the Valley of the Vines, drink the local wine under the bluest of skies and feel the warmth of the Spanish sun on your face … and you’re hooked! We were! We love it!

INTERESTED? CONTACT HONDON VILLAS:
Email: property @ hondonvillas.net
Tel: OFFICE: (0034) 965 075 357

WEBSITES & SOCIAL MEDIA:
UK Site: http://www.hondonvillas.net
NL/BE: http://www.hondonvillas.nl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hondonvillas/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hondonagent
Blog: http://www.villasinhondon.net/