Nikken bullies

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I have never liked threats. Especially when they come from big corporations that try to stifle any dissenting voices.

In this case its Nikken, a MLM company that sells “magic magnets” (I won’t say what I think they are, in fear of being sued).

So far I have received a letter (You can see it if you want, its in the “more” section of this post – but be warned, its in Swedish – and NO, its not written by the Swedish chef, unfortunately).

In brief the letter seems to indicate that Nikken UK thinks I have violated their copyright just by mentioning their company, and linking to fellow Norwegian blogger Morten Wang. Morten has been an avid researcher of the activities of Nikken and their products. For reference, take a look at his Nikken Archives (In english).

Let me just briefly translate the most important parts of the e-mail I recived from Nikken today:

Vi har nyligen uppmärksammat att du har information om Nikken UK Ltd. på internet. Du är inte tillåten att marknadsföra Nikken på något sätt på internet. Om du även visar Nikkens produkter, så bryter du mot copyright lagar.

Vi ber dig formellt att avlägsna all information om Nikken från din sida/sidor och svara skriftligt att den/dom är avlägsnade innan den 11.02.2004.

Translation:

“We recently discovered that you have information about Nikken UK LTD. on the internet. You are not allowed to market Nikken in any way on the internet. If you even show Nikken products you violate copyright laws.

We ask you formally to remove all information about Nikken from your page/pages and in respond in writing by the 11th of february 2004”

The copyrighted information I am supposed to have published? A short story about Morten Wangs writings and research about Nikken, its products, distributors and “MLM” type business.

If you know norwegian, you are welcome to check out the initial posting about Nikken.

26 thoughts on “Nikken bullies”

  2. Anders Jacobsen's sideblog

    Threats?!

    Jarle receives threats from a company called Nikken after linking to an article critical to their “scientific” claims and “pyramid/MLM”-style marketing (incidentally written by another Norwegian weblogger, Morten Wang). Can bullies stop webloggers’ voi…

    Reply
  4. Elf

    I showed this blog posting to a friend of mine who’s a lawyer, and he laughed so hard that I was sure he was going to sue me. In short, I think you have nothing to fear from these swindlers. Magnetic therapy is bullshit!

    Who do these people think they are, anway? The church of scientology?

    Reply
  • Virtuelvis

    Nikken opposed to free speech

    Jarle Dahl Bergersen recently received a Cease and Decist letter from the Nikken bullies for alleged copyright infringement. Nikken writes:…

    Reply
  • Ceci n'est pas un blog

    Cease & Desist, but not really

    Yesterday was a fun day. I got up, checked my email, and found this interesting one from somebody called “Compliance”. Behind that name you’ll find Nikken UK Ltd’s Compliance Department, and they wanted to tell me that I wasn&#8…

    Reply
  • Mark

    I profess to not know what copyright law is like in Norway; I know a tiny bit about the UK. I know heaps about Canada, and muchly about the US.

    The only way a company can claim copyright violations when they are mentioned on another website (in Canada, at least) is if a *directly competiting* company uses the copyright holders’ logo, trademarked phrases, or similar in advertisings (a website is considered a form of advertising for a company) without permission. And even this is a very gray area in Canadian law.

    As the other commenter said, this company’s claims of copyright violation are laughable… they must be studying $cientology ‘Net actions too closely.

    Reply
  • Linda Grange

    I had a friend call me to show me this site.

    I knew nothing of magnetic therapy and never heard of a company called Nikken. A friend sold me a used king size very firm mattress. I had to have a bed till my bed was delivered. I was wrought with arthritis and could barely walk. I started to feel more flexible and pain free after three weeks. I thought it was the medication I was on. So I stopped taking it to see if I started hurting. Well I still felt no pain!! I got my regular bed delivered and stored my used mattress in the garage. Well three weeks later I couldn’t walk again!! I was in so much pain I wanted to die! I found out from my friend that she sold me a used magnetic mattress from a company called Nikken. I pulled out the matress and started sleeping on it again and my life has now been pain free for three months. Can’t explain it but I am a believer! No I’m not a distributor! I am a healthy happy pain free person!!!

    You probably won’t show this to any one because all your comments are against magnets but at least I have my say!

    Reply
  • Antonio Bandarra

    First, how hold are you, usually, kids do this things.

    Kids are on the top of the world and know everything, even the quantic measusure of photon…

    In my humble knowledges, two thirds of the world use magnetic therapy, and in many countries it dates more than 5000 thousand years.

    I BELIEVE THAT HAS YOU KNOW EVERYTHING, THAT:

    -YOGA is a magnetic theraphy form;

    -Martial Arts Dans use magnetic theraphy; yes I’m sure that you know what Yin and Yang are…

    …you know everything.

    And I’m even ustounding that you know that Russia, Ucrania and other ex soviet republic use Magnetic Therapy on their Hospitals.

    ONE THING IM CERTAIN THAT YOU AREN’T:

    An ortopedic DOCTOR

    Sou you would know what very well what is Magnetic Therapy.

    Grew up

    Wake to the world before opening your mouth and make cruzades for a holly land.

    By certain you dont like to see this post, and why is that?

    Antonio

    Reply
  • Eckhard

    Hello,

    I am looking thru the inernet today, and I think you are a very sad man that should surely go out and get a LIFE!

    Is the anti-Nikken the only thing in your life that you can occupy your time with? I will suggest that you go and find a hobby or a girl-freind.

    Eckhard.

    Reply
  • Jarle

    Dear “Eckhard”. First I thought your comment was rather sad. But when I discovered where you were posting from I thought it was hilarious. You seem to be oblivious to the fact that its VERY easy to find out where you are posting from.

    Tsk tsk. Dear Mr. “Eckhard”, is that kind of slander really in accordance with company policy at Nikken UK LTD?

    Reply
  • Antonio

    Yes, I read the story…

    When we dont like any one, any excuse is good to attack. But medicine is to be respected; we are not on the dark age where blinds rulled for Centuries…

    Imagine that you dont like a Football team and starts to advertise things about using there name;

    Now imagine that your a director of that football team?

    Try to be serious when you do afirmations because grown persons know what “Law” means and the letter is obvious; just you didn’t see.

    Antonio

    Antonio

    Reply
  • Jarle

    Antonio, you have to excuse me. I can’t understand half of what you are trying to say,

    However, I hope you are not a Nikken distributor, because from my experience so far they really go after any distributor trying to make medical claims about Nikken products.

    One subject I feel you need to look up and research more is the laws considering free speech. Good luck, if you want I will be happy to provide you with some good starting points.

    Reply
  • Jane Barrington

    The Nikken sales force are the “Mr. Haneys” of Green Acres. Remember him? He would sell you anything as a “do all” or “cure all” product. These assholes come to your home and try to show you the power of magnets. The worst demo is when they have you stand on the shoe insert magnets and show how it increases your strength. It is bullshit……. the same result happens when you test it with the magnets on your refrigerator. You can’t get your money back on anything. What a joke.

    Reply
  • Brad

    I was a nikken distributor once apon a time. The products and money plan was irresistable. I bought hundreds of dollars in promotional videos & catalogs to send out. I was really into it and even made a few direct sales of of $1000 total. So, I thought, this is great! I decided to make a cool website and direct ppl to Nikken products online..this is where the trouble started. In my personal Nikken website there were no copyright issues, no. They simply don’t want you make your own site to sell Nikken even Distributors! You have to pay $80/mo to get a website thru them! Anyways, they told me to take it down, I said no it was generating good leads and sales for me, and I was cancelled. If you want 6000 Nikken catalogs/videos, let me know!! LOL…

    Reply
  • zarathos

    I’m a nikken wellness consultant. I want to apologise for the moron who sent you that E-mail. To my knowledge, you did not violate copywrite laws. That person, whomever he may be seems to be an anal, self retentive pr*ck who needs to pull the stick out of his @$$. (Please pardon my language). That is my opinion though. I don’t like it when people talk badly about my job. Who would? But I realise that everyone has a right to their own opinion. Posting your opinion is a constitutional right, at least in my country. I studied all the various viewpoints on nikken. Believe me, When I first heard about nikken, I thought that it was all a load of crap, too. I actualyy spit in the persons face, said that they were insulting my intelligence and said that if they ever came near my house again, I’d shoot them. Eventually someone else got me to go to a nikken wellness preview (But they were smart about it: they didn’t tell me where we were going). And I saw a friend there who I hadn’t seen in years. The last time I’d seen him, he was in a full body cast. He had worked building overpasses on highways, and he fell one day, breaking his back. The doctor said that he’d never walk again. But my friend ran up to me, gave me a bear hug that hurt my back and lifted me off the ground. That didn’t phase him. I asked how he got back to normal, and he said that if it weren’t for nikken he’d probably still need to walk with the aid of a cane. At first I still doubted it, but he invited me to go with him when he demonstrated it on people for a while. He’d just tell the people that I was “in training.” I’ve seen it work the same way, too many times on too many people who didn’t know what the effects were on other people to think that it is all placebo. I won’t rule out the possiblity that some of it is. Some may, or maybe not. I’m not a scientist. I can’t prove any thing either way. What I do know is that I’ve seen it help a lot of people speed there recovery time. another friend, a big mexican guy named Homer, recovered fully from a pulled groin in just two days, using the CM cream. I DON’T think that results like that are common, or that it proves in itself that the products work. But, I tend to be a pessimist. And, maybe I misinterpreted the article, but you seem to be under the impression that nikken only deals in magnetic therapy. That is inaccurate. We also deal in fahr-infrared (The special insulation used in space ships), water purification, air purification, vitamins, supplements, weight loss, fitness, and much more. There are other tests with the magnet’s I could show you with the magnets other than the strength and balance tests, but I’m too busy working three jobs(four if you include nikken, But seing as how it has no set hours, I really consider it more of a hobby than an occupation.)If anyone would like to email me, I can probably find someone to do the demonstrations for you. Oh, and for the record, I have something I must say to jane barrington: Either you are full of it or you have some pretty powerful magnets on your fridge. And when I sell nikken products, if my customer is dissatisfied in any way I buy the products back from them. I get that in writing before any time I make a sale. So far though, no one has taken me up on my offer. In short, I love nikken. I don’t profess to know how every product works. But I’ve seen to much good for me to think that it doesn’t. If it’s a placebo, Who cares? I don’t. What I know is that it helps people to heal faster. To me, that’s what is important, regardless of how it’s done.

    Reply
  • Roger Edwards

    Well done, Zarathos. Nikken does work. I used to get headaches twice a week. Since using Nikken products I haven’t had a headache in 3 years; and a groin pain is no more. Nikken wants their independent distributors to sell products by personal contacts and not use their trade name in public advertising. Of course distributors use the recognised vehicles for advertising, just don’t use the word NIKKEN. You have to work hard like any other job, the difference being as you succeed the money comes pouring in. This company is unique in their reward scheme.

    Reply
  • Mark

    I profess to not know what copyright law is like in Norway; I know a tiny bit about the UK. I know heaps about Canada, and muchly about the US.

    The only way a company can claim copyright violations when they are mentioned on another website (in Canada, at least) is if a *directly competiting* company uses the copyright holders’ logo, trademarked phrases, or similar in advertisings (a website is considered a form of advertising for a company) without permission. And even this is a very gray area in Canadian law.

    As the other commenter said, this company’s claims of copyright violation are laughable… they must be studying $cientology ‘Net actions too closely.

    Reply
  • cfelton

    This Nikken thread seems to have wrapped up nearly a year ago, but I found it all very interesting. What brought me to your blog? I bought a Nikken magnetic mattress second-hand at a garage sale last week. The price was right (about $100 for a $1500 mattress), and I figured the magnets wouldn’t hurt me even if they didn’t give me “the best sleep of my life.” It seemed pretty firm, but I seemed to remember people saying firm is better for your back.

    After a week of sleeping on it, I’m trying to figure out how to make the damn thing comfortable! It’s the hardest mattress in the world, and I’m thinking I might have done just as well sleeping on the floor. Last night I slept on my couch and had a wonderful 9 straight hours of unconscious bliss!

    Anybody got any leads on a nice pillowtop??

    C

    Reply
  • Sarah Sanders

    Dear Sir I have read your statment and have to say it is incorrect to point your finger and yell lets face it with all the doctors and hospital stays we need a company like Nikken to investigate and stay on top of the game of health.If all companys were created equal Nikken would not be the super company that they are, so think about this they dont have time to waste on your poor pathetic self they are working for the whole of humanity so take your opinion and go.It works and you should try it. A Nikken supporter

    Reply
  • shimi

    This has been one long night, im seeing spots from sitting here for hours staring at the screen looking for some answers.

    I can surely say that i believe what the eye can not see, but, even then it can usually be explained, maybe not by pure logic, but it can.

    These long hours of research have led me to one thing. This so called “miracle making inc.” has no answers, never the less dignify itself with any real information.

    As a person that believes in things the eye can’t see i thought up front: “Hey what a great company, these products are so interesting, about time someone creates unordinary tools for helping people and improving our lives.” So i signed up and had a confirmation email sent to me saying that a representitive would contact me. That was a few hours ago.

    Then i went through thier list of products but as i went along i just felt more decieved. I got no real answers. The products kept on repeating the same words (which can also be looked upon as consistancy) but with no explainations(?!), and the list of products kept going on, and it just seemed like this company made more and more products just to fit the economy and to sell more like any other healthy capitalist company.

    I believe that if you came across this you’re a person who actually cares, so let your inner truth lead you, and don’t believe all you’re told, especially if it can’t be backed up.

    the sun is going to come up in a couple hours, and that representitive is going to call, and I, my friends am going to sleep a great good night(or day) sleep on my extra, ultra, super ordinary mattress.

    God Bless.

    Reply

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