"Clearly, Moviola has a legitimate gripe about this website," said John Cain, a trademark lawyer with Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White in Houston. "Trademarks are established only by using them and by protecting them. If other people use them, they lose their value."

No matter, RTMark members said.

"While this situation is established in law, it is not right. If the law says Moviola must pursue Miranda July for her website, the law must be changed. And that's really our primary interest: Moviola is, in fact, no worse than the countless other corporations damaging various things in the name of profit," said "Ray," another RTMark organizer.

"This case just seems perfect for illustrating the general problem. It's especially easy to see how Moviola is being a bully, and the real value that this threatens to destroy is quite palpable."

July, meanwhile, was wondering just what havoc she'd helped unleash. When she initially contacted RTMark, she said, she just wanted advice about her legal options.

In conversations with Moviola, she tried to strike a conciliatory tone. Moviola, however, was upset by the barrage of email from RTMark, and sent a letter to both July and RTMark saying so.

RTMark promptly responded via email. "This decision to undertake a campaign against your company is NOT Ms. July's. It is ours," the message said. "We of course hope that Ms. July agrees with our plans, but this decision to undertake a campaign against you is 100 percent our decision. If you wish to stop it from happening, further threats against Ms. July will not help; rather, you will have to threaten us."

By late afternoon Wednesday, July had grown so uncomfortable with RTMark's campaign that she emailed them and asked them to hold off, calling the protest "misguided."

"I do not feel that it serves my goals, which are to save my name through a negotiation with Moviola Digital," she wrote.

RTMark said it would likely honor July's request, though it might be too late to stop independent activists from targeting Moviola.

"It's tough for us all to back off now, and experience of past success makes us not want to ... but we'll probably defer to Miranda's judgment, at least basically," said RTMark's Ray.

"I am afraid she has probably talked to lawyers who recommend taking the most conservative approach," Guerrero added. "Their whole approach is usually: 'You could be subject to more abuses, so you should accept the abuse that they are giving you now.' This is a huge systemic problem, and that is why we fight this kind of battle with public opinion rather than relying on the courts."

As far as Moviola's concerned, it's already too late to pull punches.

"You can't un-ring the bell," Newman said.

"Ironically, RTMark's actions do nothing more than victimize both Moviola and Miranda July, who are two small businesses trying to work something out," she added in a subsequent email. "We are still -- as we have been from the start -- conducting good faith discussions with Miranda July regarding her use of our name; no lawsuit has been filed, and we are looking carefully at all of our options."

RTMark isn't holding its breath for an option that favors Big Miss Moviola.