Polo shirts cause laughter – and legal injunction

Best Buy Corporation has asked a New York City comedy troupe to remove satirical polo shirts from its online store. The electronics retailer, which is one of the largest in North America, sent a Cease & Desist letter to Improv Everywhere and its shirt retailer ‘Neighborhoodies’. It’s also sent a letter to a San Francisco blog, Laughing Squid, which had reported on the T-shirt design.

The design emerged after Improv Everywhere videotaped a prank at a New York City Best Buy store where around eighty people dressed in clothing similar to the uniform of Best Buy employees. After the video was posted on Improv Everywhere’s wesite, the comedy troupe began to merchandise polo shirts to commemorate the event - the shirts were the same colour as the best Buy uniform, with a yellow logo reading Improv Everywhere rather than Best Buy.

On receiving the letter, Improv Everywhere removed the polo shirts from its site, and Neighborhoodies took the shirts off the shelves. But the issue may rebound on the big company - a few days later, Best Buy apologised in writing to the creators of the Laughing Squid Web site, stating, ‘We do not object to fair and accurate reporting of the fact … We regret sending you the demand letter.’

A specialist lawyer in trademarks cautions against large companies lashing out at small organisations, especially humorous ones, that doesn’t pose a risk to the mark-holder’s reputation. ‘A company can suffer more harm to its reputation or goodwill by that, than by the conduct that caused the Cease and Desist letter in the first place’, she said.

Best Buy employees by redasabear

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Add comment January 3rd, 2008