Mel, your Unicorn meat received a Cease and Desist Letter

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/blog/2010/06/officially-our-bestever-cease.html

or Rob? Which of you posts?

Edited June 22, 2010 by Sousuke

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

That would be Rob doing the posting and pimping of unicorn meat.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Wow, I'm not quite sure what to think of that because the pork association are actually being serious. I'd love for that to actually go to trial

[IndigoSkies 168]

You don't mess with Big Pork. ThinkGeek is using trade-marked slogan and copyrighted material to drive interesting in their site. That in turn is making them sell more products. This is illegal. And the cease and desist letter isn't a laughable thing. I'm sure Big Pork's lawyers aren't as much of #######-clowns as ThinkGeek is making them out to be.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I'm not quite sure if you're being snarky, trolling, or if you're serious. If you are being serious, your argument would only hold water if they were actually selling it as a meat product, or even selling it at all.

[SupportGeek 21]

You don't mess with Big Pork. ThinkGeek is using trade-marked slogan and copyrighted material to drive interesting in their site. That in turn is making them sell more products. This is illegal. And the cease and desist letter isn't a laughable thing. I'm sure Big Pork's lawyers aren't as much of #######-clowns as ThinkGeek is making them out to be.

Too bad for the lawyers since its not even a real product, and the April fools "products" are well known to be fake, use of the slogan by TG in this instance is protected because its parody.

Also I seriously doubt any traffic was driven to their site over the slogan at all, the traffic to their site was generated solely on the fact that TG are well known to have cool fake products for April fools.

This isnt the first time Lawyers have been seriously wrong, and jumped to litigation well before checking their facts. Its unlikely to be the last.

[ValerieA 350]

I thought the slogan for unicorn meat was "The new white meat"? Isn't pork "The other white meat"? Has the NPB trademarked every single iteration of "The XXX white meat"?

This isnt the first time Lawyers have been seriously wrong, and jumped to litigation well before checking their facts. Its unlikely to be the last.

I just got a mental image of a boardroom full of lawyers researching the existence of unicorns.

[Dan J 277]

You don't mess with Big Pork. ThinkGeek is using trade-marked slogan and copyrighted material to drive interesting in their site. That in turn is making them sell more products. This is illegal. And the cease and desist letter isn't a laughable thing. I'm sure Big Pork's lawyers aren't as much of #######-clowns as ThinkGeek is making them out to be.

Parody is often protected. They can send C&D letters are they want, but its not going anywhere.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I just got a mental image of a boardroom full of lawyers researching the existence of unicorns.

Shut up, we totally did that at law school!

[IndigoSkies 168]

My previous post was sarcasm and humor and also a tiny bit serious. I hope Big Pork doesn't come sue me or something. Parody is protected but making profit out of parody isn't. The lawyers can argue that by using the Big Pork slogan, ThinkGeek is driving more traffic to the site, and selling more (of, what I consider, #######.) A judge might rule against ThinkGeek and probably should do exactly that.

[ValerieA 350]

Shut up, we totally did that at law school!

And what was your conclusion? HEY, are you an NPB lawyer?

[ValerieA 350]

These guys are out of control ( note: this is a 2007 story, they've been at this a while). I accept the difference in this one, in that she is actually selling a t-shirt, but still...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/138930/national_pork_board_threatens_to_sue.html?cat=17

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

And what was your conclusion? HEY, are you an NPB lawyer?

We concluded that in the absence of any proof since a couple of My Little Ponies were prancing about in the mid-1980s (squeeeeeeeeee!) (which is a legal term), unicorns sadly do not exist in the 21st century.

I do NOT work for the NPB! I work for the National Union of Squeeeeeeeeeeee! which is headquartered in Detroit.

[ValerieA 350]

We concluded that in the absence of any proof since a couple of My Little Ponies were prancing about in the mid-1980s (squeeeeeeeeee!) (which is a legal term), unicorns sadly do not exist in the 21st century.

I do NOT work for the NPB! I work for the National Union of Squeeeeeeeeeeee! which is headquartered in Detroit.

Didn't you do law school in the 20th century?

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Didn't you do law school in the 20th century?

Nope. I was a late bloomer. I started in 2001 when I was a buxom and comely lass of 28.