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Best Buy Hates Satire and Free Speech

laughingsquid.com — Best is giving out Holiday cheer via Cease & Desist Letter!

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  • ekai, on 12/11/2007, -0/+38except when their own employees do it.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tbXZVQzu_4
    • mythicflux, on 12/12/2007, -1/+6Kill it! For the love of all that is holy.
    • dasdef, on 12/12/2007, -1/+4seriously that is so lame that its hilarious Hahaha. Cool how they were allowed to do that (or were they?).
    • cusoman, on 12/12/2007, -3/+5I hate you.
    • mal1964, on 12/12/2007, -1/+4Coming soon their new hit video,, taken over the unemployment line!
    • kingvik, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbDVC7XTv6M&feature ...
      i like that better
    • andycr512, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1As someone who has been cheated out of around $1,400 by Best Buy (two PSP's that did nothing to cover the product and a laptop that now won't work and they send back unrepaired whenever I send in), that was painful to watch. Actually, I think that would be painful for anyone to watch.
  • oskay, on 12/11/2007, -1/+47C & D for covering news-- holy crap these guys are scary!
    • ttamshadbolt, on 12/12/2007, -1/+3http://laughingsquid.com/improv-everywhere-best-bu ...

      for those too lazy to type in the URL...
    • Tralobyte, on 12/12/2007, -4/+1If he's making money off ads on his blog (i.e. using material not strictly for educational purposes), then he needs permission to use copyrighted material. Best Buy has every right to their copyrighted material. If you made an amazing photograph and bloggers started making money off your work, would you be angry?
  • hawkmucci, on 12/11/2007, -14/+3totally ridiculous that they sent you that letter. You are facilitating a mass infringement of trademark. You sure have tarnished the Best Buy brand.
    • lydecker, on 12/11/2007, -2/+9Nobody tarnishes the Best Buy brand but themselves. Satire and Free Speech just brings it to light.

      Best Buy, want to stop people bad mouthing you? Stop deserving it!
    • ufia, on 12/12/2007, -6/+10A trademark is not something bored people do for fun in the weekends. If you neglect to legally protect it, you lose it. Best Buy did the right thing. But hey, this is Digg, you know, police state and stuff.
    • jmlambe, on 12/12/2007, -1/+4I think it's funny that I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not...
  • bglav, on 12/11/2007, -4/+15Wishing I could delete this...
  • l0k0, on 12/11/2007, -9/+4I don't see the big deal in all this. No one should use such a crappy logo and color scheme anyways.
    • hockeypaul, on 12/12/2007, -2/+4Actually psychologists have found out blue and yellow together are the two most soothing colors to read.

      Now the tag, i agree with ya there.
      • tyywebb, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1I quite enjoy blue and yellow together.
  • Dylson, on 12/11/2007, -9/+35I hate Best Buy.
  • spyd3rweb, on 12/11/2007, -6/+20Best Buy went south when they started marking garbage products to people stupid enough to buy them.
  • therightclique, on 12/11/2007, -27/+35I don't really see the problem honestly. I'm no fan of Best Buy. Quite the opposite, but come on, it is THEIR logo. Come up with your own logo. Don't just feed off of what other people are doing. Come up with your own ideas for once.
    • mythicflux, on 12/12/2007, -2/+45The point is that this C&D was not sent to the people who created the shirts, merely a blog that posted a link in an article about them.
    • bazbloke, on 12/12/2007, -2/+4I think you are missing the point. LS didn't actually use the logo, they just reported it.
    • Zippo, on 12/12/2007, -3/+10Graphic designer and super-geek Zippo, reporting for duty.

      While clearly a parody, and very similar, the shirt is not using the Best Buy Logo. If the yellow tag was of identical proportions and the exact yellow spot colour, then Best Buy might have a case since they have that trademarked. However...
      Exhibit A - Best Buy's logo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Best ...
      Exhibit B - The parody logo: http://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/improv ...

      Note the different length, slightly different angle, and different typeface.
      It's not similar enough, nor does it actually mention the words "Best" nor "Buy". One could easily say it's simply a yellow tag with writing on it. All Improv Everywhere needs to do is make sure the yellow and blue colours used do not match that of Best Buy's graphic standards.
      • solidus636, on 12/12/2007, -8/+3You suck at hyper-linking...
        • Disodium, on 12/12/2007, -0/+12More like digg rocks at breaking hyper links
      • saifatlast, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2Haha... you thought you would be able to edit your post without digg breaking it... silly you.
  • Wetzilla, on 12/12/2007, -12/+29I think Best Buy has a legitimate complaint with the sale of the shirts. The C&D to the blog reporting it is a bit sketchier, but you can make the case that they are promoting the shirts. The original best buy mission was quite harmless, but now they are offering these shirts to the general public. Best Buy has a right to protect their reputation, and these shirts provide a way for people who don't like Best Buy to attempt to hurt them.
    • Veritate, on 12/12/2007, -2/+7Letter to blogger = $400 in billable hours. I'd send the letter too.
    • Spanktacular, on 12/12/2007, -5/+19You're an idiot.

      Parody is protected speech, and reporting on someone else's parody is protected as well. There is no legal leg to stand on for Best Buy in this argument.

      Also, a C&D is not a legal order of anything. Basically, it's a polite letter making a request with a warning of possible legal actions to take place later if one does not comply with the REQUEST.
      • Wetzilla, on 12/12/2007, -4/+3Like I said below, this doesn't really fit the legal definition of parody. So there is a very strong legal leg for best buy to stand on.
    • aspaceoddity, on 12/12/2007, -2/+2I fully agree, this is much too close to their actual logo and is to spread word about a campaign thats derogatory to them. You shouldn't be introducing free speech into this, the problem is that IE is making money through a direct imitation of Best Buy's trademarked creation and not giving them a cent. Of course, it is a problem they sent it to the blog and not IE.
    • EvilAnimator, on 12/12/2007, -4/+3Yes you and ASPACEODDITY are total idiots or shills for Best Buy. Or you have no clue about the concept of parody, fair use, and satire.
      • Mothrog, on 12/12/2007, -3/+1Care to explain how this constitutes fair use? What's the parody here? How exactly is "Improv Anywhere" a satire of Best Buy?
      • Wetzilla, on 12/12/2007, -2/+1"A parody exists when one imitates a serious piece of work, such as literature, music or artwork, for a humorous or satirical effect."

        I fail to see how this is using the best buy logo for a humorous or satirical effect.
    • tech42er, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1Are you ***** kidding me? It's not their logo; it;s not their trademark? DOes Bes Buy now own the trademark to all yellow tags with writing on them?
    • TantrooM, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1If this is the kind of knowledge Best Buy has of the internet, they certainly are not a technology store worth going to.

      Next they'll sue Drew Carey for using their logos as audience member nametags.
  • earlysound, on 12/12/2007, -4/+11A bit of an extreme title for this Digg submission, but it's pretty ridiculous of Best Buy to send someone a C&D like this. Evens out, I guess ;)
    • Dougdob, on 12/12/2007, -1/+0I think the title matches the actions of Best Buy. :)
  • DavidYeah, on 12/12/2007, -10/+3I think we should let the free market decide who gets to use the logo.
  • topbravo, on 12/12/2007, -13/+13Best Buy can go ***** themselves...
  • r0b1, on 12/12/2007, -22/+8If Ron Paul were elected President, this wouldn't be an issue.
    • Taciturn, on 12/12/2007, -3/+8And flocks of doves will ***** rainbows into your eyeballs.
    • MasterInsan0, on 12/12/2007, -4/+3digg = Ron Paul spam land.
      I'm pretty much convinced he either hires people to spam digg, or hypnotizes people so he can away with it for free.
    • lacronicus, on 12/12/2007, -3/+9If Ron Paul were elected president, all your dreams would come true, you would live in the disneyworld castle, win the lottery, and angels will sing a chorus wherever you go.

      Actually, if Ron Paul were elecetd, he would push for more rights for large corporations, which might include elimination of anti-trust laws, less restrictions on product quality, and a whole hows of other things that are actually good things to have.
    • baylorbear, on 12/12/2007, -0/+0Come on man, I'm a die hard Ron Paul guy, but saying stupid stuff like that has a NEGATIVE effect. -1
  • bszaronos, on 12/12/2007, -1/+13You should make a tee shirt with the cease & desist letter on the front and back.
  • laughingsquid, on 12/12/2007, -1/+49There are actually two issues here:
    1) BB going after Improv Everywhere for t-shirt with the parody logo
    2) BB going after bloggers who wrote about the t-shirt.
    • MattJhsn, on 12/12/2007, -1/+6I'm a blogger covering another blogger that covered the story. Should I be worried? ;-)
      • Veritate, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3That you're going to get mail? No...
    • theclashrocker, on 12/12/2007, -0/+0You need to claim two parties that are "in the wrong" in order to sue.
  • Veritate, on 12/12/2007, -5/+11They probably didn't need to send the C&D to LaughingSquid, though I don't blame them for defending their TM. If they don't, even for stupid stuff like this, they could lose it.

    Though, given that it increases the lawyer's billable hours for that extra letter to a blogger. . . sending it to LS may have been a good move.
    • blake_mooney, on 12/12/2007, -7/+2Oh PULEASE, don't give me that *****. I have seen innocent people get sued and bankrupted over corporate ***** like this. For the love of god, people are actually siding with these rich corporate pieces of *****...
      • JudgeMonkey, on 12/12/2007, -1/+2Yep, they have money, so therefore we should instantly hate them!
      • Veritate, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1It's not a suit. It's a letter to cease and desist. Big difference, and doesn't actually hurt LaughingSquid at all.
    • tech42er, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1It's one thing if they're protecting their trademark, but they're not. The Improv Everywhere design is CLEARLY not the Best Buy logo. How the hell is this even an issue? Best Buy is overreaching and bullying a group that is ridiculing Best Buy.
  • winvirus, on 12/12/2007, -10/+21Nevermind. Digg me down.
    • Dylson, on 12/12/2007, -4/+13Make me.
    • tektalk, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1Bitch! don't tell me what to do with my life! I digg you up, ha!
  • laughingsquid, on 12/12/2007, -0/+6The front page digg is providing a good test for the WordPress Super Cache plugin. Going into lock down mode is really helping reduce the server load: http://ocaoimh.ie/wp-super-cache/
  • tppeters, on 12/12/2007, -1/+29In case you haven't seen it, here's the hilarious prank that started all of this nonsense:

    http://www.improveverywhere.com/2006/04/23/best-bu ...

    (Improv Everywhere sends 80 people into a Best Buy wearing blue polo shirts. The controversy here is that they then started selling blue polo shirts that said "Improv Everywhere" in the yellow price tag logo, so folks could buy the shirt and try the prank on their own.)
  • scabbers, on 12/12/2007, -4/+1If it was just some guy who made his own t-shirt for "satire and free speech" this whining might make sense.
  • otbeverly, on 12/12/2007, -0/+4I think that letter is good for 10% off any any Best Buy store. (some exclusions apply)
  • tppeters, on 12/12/2007, -0/+6Also, the video of the original prank is here: http://revver.com/video/80988/best-buy/
    • oilcan, on 12/12/2007, -1/+2so they just dressed up like best buy employees to get in trouble? i don't get it...
    • Mothrog, on 12/12/2007, -1/+2That's a pretty lame attempt at comedy.
  • junkyinny, on 12/12/2007, -6/+8bestbuy owns the yellow price tag logo like digg owns voting
  • DavidYeah, on 12/12/2007, -0/+5http://www.goodlogo.com/ has pretty much any corporate logo you can think of, if any of you were feeling creative.
  • JS9000, on 12/12/2007, -2/+0I hope you aren't actually going to honor that letter.
  • Slipkey, on 12/12/2007, -9/+7I'd say Best Buy is in the right on this one to request a take down - since the blog post in question links to the (now removed) point of purchase. The Improv Anywhere "mission" was satire - and very funny. Selling t-shirts which infringe on an established trademark is profiteering. Big difference.
    • DavidYeah, on 12/12/2007, -4/+1So why do they have to depend on the government to solve all of their problems? They should be competing in the free market to make a better logo.
    • blake_mooney, on 12/12/2007, -0/+4They are NOT infringing on anyone's trademark. It's not the same logo, so Best Buy can go ***** themselves. I hope those ***** go out of business. They suck ass and their employees are ***** irritating as hell - I wanna punch every one of them in the face.
    • tech42er, on 12/12/2007, -0/+4IT IS NOT THEIR ***** TRADEMARK! If they were protecting their trademark, it would be one thing, but they're not!
  • Error601, on 12/12/2007, -8/+8Lame. Yes, companies have to show an effort to defend their trademarks or they lose them. Get OVER it already.
  • oilcan, on 12/12/2007, -3/+4i love it when people get their panties twisted in a bunch whenever a company defends its trademarks :P
  • TheRascalKing, on 12/12/2007, -3/+2What a bunch of assholes, stopping people from using their trademarked design. I say we write an open letter!
  • Scorpy2643, on 12/12/2007, -6/+6best buy is not wrong in this case. if they don't protect their logo, it can later be used in court as evidence of logo dilution and someone truly harmful to their corporate entity can use it against them. but who expects a bunch of bloggers to understand anything about real jobs?
  • Vegabondsx, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2Maybe it's just me, but notice the yellow tag doesn't have the "Best Buy" in it but rather bellow it as if to make their trademark more generalized...
  • mal1964, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2***** the mail doesn't arrive on the same day it was sent.
    • theclashrocker, on 12/12/2007, -0/+0top of the letter states: "VIA overnight mail and EMAIL." So, Im guessing a document/html attachment...
    • mal1964, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1Would the email have the letter head style with the fine print on the bottom? I dont know that's why I'm asking, not to be a smart-ass
  • andrewthrice, on 12/12/2007, -2/+12This is parody and covered under fair use. I've seen lots of similar shirts created in this vein, parodying various cultural icons and artifacts. ***** you Best Buy.
    • blake_mooney, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1True dat.
    • Sitbacknwatch, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1not when they encourage people to take their newly aquired shirt and go into a best buy as they did.... Thats a bit different
      • BlackJackJester, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2What people do with purchased merchandise isn't the problem of the company, unless that is more or less the only real use for it, or they are instructed to pull such pranks. Looks like they are just selling a parody shirt, no strings attached.
        • Sitbacknwatch, on 12/12/2007, -0/+0ya but it tells them to try their own experiment of going into a bb store... Thats when it becomes a real issue
  • lowerlogic, on 12/12/2007, -2/+1i think they're going to come after digg next for linking to the C&D letter
  • JS9000, on 12/12/2007, -4/+0Let's burn down a Best Buy store? You think I'm joking don't you? Ha!
  • chicoer2001, on 12/12/2007, -0/+6Just go to Target wearing red and khaki. Much easier way to ***** with people.
  • ArkAngel06, on 12/12/2007, -1/+2Whats funny is some of the comments on the order page....

    "Haha brilliant. I expect a lawsuit in 2 days or less."

    "Oh I gotta order this before the cease and desist order arrives! :)"

    "Cease and desist? Parody is protected speech :-)"

    And those were posted in November....lol
  • s2kdave, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1At first I thought this was going to be Best Buy suing the television show Chuck for the Buy More satire
    • cheald, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1Chuck did the parody right. Buy More's design is obviously intended to evoke impressions of Best Buy, but it wouldn't ever be confused for the actual Best Buy.
  • cheald, on 12/12/2007, -3/+2I know that hating on Best Buy is the popular thing to do around here, but this would have happened if it was any company with a distinguishable mark. Companies have not only a legal right, but a legal obligation to police their trademarks and prevent others from using them.

    From http://www.chillingeffects.org/trademark/faq.cgi

    "If a trademark owner fails to police his or her mark, the owner may be deemed to have abandoned the mark or acquiesced in its misuse. A trademark is only protected while it serves to identify the source of goods or services.

    If a trademark owner believes someone is infringing his or her trademark, the first thing the owner is likely to do is to write a "cease-and-desist" letter which asks the accused infringer to stop using the trademark. If the accused infringer refuses to comply, the owner may file a lawsuit in Federal or state court. The court may grant the plaintiff a preliminary injunction on use of the mark -- tell the infringer to stop using the trademark pending trial. "

    Failing to file a C&D in a case like this opens the door a bit for other persons or companies to use marks like Best Buy's trademark, and weakens Best Buy's legal stance in the defense of their trademarks. You'd have to be sixteen flavors of stupid to not file a C&D against someone selling shirts intended to imitate your trademark.
    • Oomsoup, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1They can certainly file a C&D but that doesn't necessarily mean they would win in a court battle over the parody shirts. I believe it all has to do with intent to confuse the public. I'm not sure these shirts qualify as that. They do clearly state "Improv Anywhere" on them so who knows what the courts would decide.
      • Sitbacknwatch, on 12/12/2007, -2/+0ya but when the article tells people whom buy the shirt to go in and try to replicate their event they did in NYC, the intent is to deceive the public... BB would win this without issue if it were to ever go to court....
    • tech42er, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1It's not their trademark though. It's a different design. It's just similar to Best Buy's logo, but it's not the same, and it's not trademark infringement. Have you even seen the Improv Everywhere shirt?
      • tamuengineer, on 12/12/2007, -0/+0it does not have to be exactly like the original, only deceptively similar
  • davecor, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2Crap... I'm in trouble next....
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M83NElI35vU
  • adml_shake, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3When I worked for them, someone (at another store) walked in off the street wearing a blue polo shirt black pants (warehouse guy attire) he then went walking in the back got a big plasma TV out of the ware house and told the Loss prevention guy he was loading this up in a red pick up truck. Well the truck pulled up the loss prevention guy was busy with other stuff so didn't ask any questions and let the guy walk out with a TV. I'm not sure but I think it also happened a few more times during the day. So I'm wondering if thats why they don't want people seeling anything that looks like a BB shirt. Twisted manager logic.
  • blake_mooney, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1I thought Best Buy were already the biggest ***** suckers in retail (save for Wal-Mart). I actually thought I couldn't hate those bastards more then I already did... Guess I was wrong.
  • TheProtested, on 12/12/2007, -1/+2We met at Union Square North at 3:30 PM. Around 80 agents showed up, most them looking like wonderful Best Buy employees. More than a few came dressed in navy or teal, but with the belt and the khakis they still looked employee-like. After everyone arrived I explained the mission. The first step was for everyone to throw their newspapers away. The instruction to bring a newspaper was a red herring meant to throw people off the scent of the mission’s true nature. I then revealed the plan, “We’re heading up to the Best Buy on 23rd Street. We’ll enter the store one by one. Once inside, spread out and stand near the end of an aisle, facing away from the merchandise. Don’t shop, but don’t work either. If a customer comes up to you and asks you a question, be polite and help them if you know the answer. If anyone asks you if you work there, say no. If an employee asks you what you’re doing, respond ‘I’m waiting for my girlfriend/boyfriend who is shopping elsewhere in the store.’ If they question you about your clothing, just explain that it’s what you put on when you woke up this morning and you don’t know any of the other people dressed like you.” - from laughingsquid.com

    owned.
  • minoss, on 12/12/2007, -5/+3You do understand they HAVE to do this or else they can lose their trademark entirely right?
    • EvilAnimator, on 12/12/2007, -1/+6No you are wrong. Because Best Buy is wrong. This is protected fair use. Best Buy doesn't HAVE to do anything. Read a book.
  • Sitbacknwatch, on 12/12/2007, -2/+1As much as i love these video's i can see where best buy is going with this. Say a person buys this shirt, then goes into bestbuy impersonating an employee, and blows off a customer... Now ya a person should reliese that the icon on their shirt doesnt say bestbuy, but how many have you worked in retail? A person doesnt eye you're uniform that intently, you're in the store, your shirt sorta resembles a bb shirt, you must work there. And the fact that it says for you to go try it out yoruself.. i mean come on? How do you think that will affect their image? I mean dont get me wrong i can understand why alot of you guys HATE them, however adding to that can cause some issues to their bottom line. And thats really all these big boxes really care about. And for that matter all you people talking about how horrible BB is, Where else are you gonna go when you need something and cant wait for it online? Circuit city? Gonna get the same crap there....
    • tech42er, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1So I can't go into Target and wear red and white? Companies own trademarks, not colors.
      • Sitbacknwatch, on 12/12/2007, -0/+0thats different, with these shirts they have an icon on the shirt that is MEANT to look like a best buy yellow tag, completely different. You're red shirt doesnt have a target symbol on it does it?
  • mal1964, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1They are also trying to copyright money they think they're the right-full owners of all money. call your local government now
  • KaJuN4, on 12/12/2007, -0/+7Good thing Best Buy opted for the extended warranty on their trademark.
  • jmlambe, on 12/12/2007, -1/+2best buy - you're going the way of circuit city in due time...
  • GoatRoper, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2Just flip the yellow ticket 180 and make it a slightly different color, it will still ***** with people
  • DarkDragon, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1***** you Best Lie.
    • TheRascalKing, on 12/12/2007, -1/+0I get it... it sounds like Best Buy. Funny guy.
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