Monday, February 1, 2010

South Butt vs. North Face

This doesn't really have anything to do with alcohol per se, though I suspect some may have been involved in the drafting of this answer. The clothing company North Face is suing South Butt, LLC, for trademark infringement. South Butt has responded by arguing a 1st Amendment parody defense. Their Answer to the North Face Complaint is hilarious, and well worth reading even if you're not a lawyer.

The South Butt Answer to the North Face

My favorite parts:
  • Describing the defendant as a "cherubic teenager" who "may have turned 19 years of age, while he looks 14, and to some, acts 12".
  • "the consuming public is well aware of the difference between a face and a butt"
  • "Despite [the company's adventurous image] Plaintiff's products are perceived as being consumed by those who have little to no interest in living an adventurous lifestyle, but, rather, are interested in acquiring Plaintiff's products for the status and/or notoriety they receive from being seen in Plaintiff's expensive apparel and accessories." ... "Defendants recognized this bizarre phenomenon."

2 comments:

Chloe said...

OK - that's hilarious. You'll have to give us an update when some ruling is made. I hope the judge will have as much good humor.

Russell Hews Everett said...

Hah, I'll keep an eye out. I hope the judge does have a sense of humor, but also takes the claims seriously. A judge in California was just censured for ordering that the attorneys in a class action suit be paid the $140,000 they earned in $10 gift cards to the store they sued, which is of course, what each of the classmembers got: a $10 giftcard to spend at the very store they sued. Frankly I like that plan, but the ethics committee did not.

 
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The Twentyfirst Amendment Meets the 21st Century by Russell Hews Everett is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. The opinions expressed on this page are purely my own, and should not be taken to constitute legal representation or advice.