Daniel McCall of Liberty Maniacs has put out a parody image in which the likeness of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is lined up as the latest in a row of figures such as Marx, Lenin, and Mao. Yesterday, invoking the campaign’s trademark and copyright interests, a Seattle lawyer named Claire Hawkins “has demanded that McCall stop purveying this image.” It’s the latest in a series of aggressive moves by campaigns and candidates including Hillary Clinton, Ben Carson, and Ron Paul, as well as the Republican National Committee, to assert intellectual property as a reason for taking down works that play on their image in either unfavorable or favorable ways as a means of expression. [Paul Alan Levy, Consumer Law & Policy; Ron Coleman, Likelihood of Confusion]
7 Comments
Um, Bernie, it’s fair use for parody, and it’s political speech. Good luck overcoming that hurdle. Pro tip: if you don’t want to be identified with those others, perhaps you need to review your own stance. Just sayin’.
Campbell v. Acuff-Rose, but it still would be expensive to litigate.
I thought it was Trump who was attacking 1A
This has been a common feature on the left for about the last 10 years, now. Seeing as Trump isn’t very far removed from that orbit, it’s readily apparent why he looks like that. Well, that and his penchant for threatening lawfare if he doesn’t like what is said.
I am struggling to get over how much it looks like a diagram of the evolution of facial hair…
@Spodula–
Bingo! Modified (perhaps with less inflammatory text), it could be used to decorate some barbershops.
IDK. Maybe Bernie should be happy they did not put up a shot with him, Mussilini, Franco, and Hitler? (which would have been in very bad taste, given that his mother survived the Holocaust).
I wish FDR and Eisenhower were around. They would comment that they knew Stalin, Mao, etc. and that Bernie is not one of them (apologies to Sen. Bentsen and JFK).
Whatever the case, this kind of advertisement must not be censored by the government.