Selling Parody
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- CincodeMayo
I designed a t-shirt as part of a branding package but I'm thinking of selling it on my own. It has an obvious nod to a certain LA baseball team, but it's clearly a parody, meaning it looks just like the logo and shares the team colors, but it says something completely different. It definitely resembles the team logo, but it's obviously not when you read it.
Is this kind of thing ok to sell or is it a major no-no? Would selling this be followed by a cease and desist or something worse? Or would it be completely legal? Can't find a definitive answer on Google...any thoughts/advice are much appreciated!
- nb0
LA Codgers?
- Gnash1
some reading material:
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-trad…Parodies make fun of a thing by copying enough of it to make it recognizable while subverting the message of the original.1 Most people don’t like being made fun of. Some of those people turn to intellectual property (IP) law in an effort to suppress those parodies.
http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu…
- instrmntl0
- "We won the world series"
– yeah, in 6 games, pffft.DRIFTMONKEY
- "We won the world series"
- CincodeMayo0
Thanks Gnash. Read that Quora thing and understand it, but it just seems like SO many people sell and get away with IP or parody. Even sites like Cotton Bureau have some shirts that walk the line – one titled Boba Fett with his mask and a bunch with sports teams name/colors. Guess I just don't get how some people get away with it and some don't. Luck of the draw it seems?
- i think you're right. people just do it until they're told to stopGnash
- sarahfailin0
I wonder what you might get out of contacting their PR department. I doubt they would give you the green light or any assurances they *wouldn't* sue the crap out of you.
You might look around for other things being sold that are parodying that team, see how many there are, how inflammatory they are. If yours is less so, there may be safety in numbers.
- capn_ron0
The skateboard industry used to do a ton of this and seemed like it never had problems, but my current company did something similar to an In'n'Out logo that clearly didn't say n'n'out and we got a cease and desist letter. Luckily we had already sold out, so it didn't matter, but it they had sent it earlier we wouldn't have been able to sell them after that point.
- DRIFTMONKEY6
Lawyers cost money. If they don't stand to profit from your plagiarism, you're fine.
- ********0
Parody will also qualify, but only if the work directly parodies something about the original work.
- Hayoth-2
Case law already exists so you're fine, but ultimately it's who has deeper pockets.
