We must defend MGoBlog

also have a tent selling it right in front of the union.

I would Boo the bootleggers, but that would only strengthen their cause.

I like how the "Worst state ever" shirt says "(ohio)" just below the main text.  You know, in case you couldn't tell by the outline of America's armpit.

Wow, that's bush league of them. The Michigan Daily should condemn these guys.

Buck the Fuckeyes. Clever.

Tomorrow someone should harness the power of drunk and flip that stand over.

KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!

They will pay for this, THEY WILL PAY.

That pisses me off! Those babies are copyrighted are they not? This site has some lawyers, someone find out who they are and one of us suits will send a threatening letter on the scary letterhead. (my bar admission isn't Michigan)

i never realized they were ripping off mgoblog. a-holes

I would fart in their general direction, given the chance. That reminds me, I need to do at lease half my Christmas shopping here.

now its time to see if i've rubbed off on you at all. Who is going to knock the f'ers out? who among you has the balls to go up to them, and rip that shit down? you guys cant let people take advantage of you like that espically in a football enviornment... am i going to have to take a trip up to michigan, not to see a game, but to kick someone's @ss?

Wow, that is really bad. This is blatant copyright infringement that is taking money out of the copyright holders pocket.

I know Brian mentioned the Bo society had sent him letters demanding he quit profiting from Bo's likeness. This is a much more clear cut example of using images and ideas that are not your intellectual property. I know the blogosphere is all about the open trade of ideas, but that is pretty slimy, especially since the shirts are just about the only content Brian doesn't give away for free.

Anyone think a "cease and desist" would do anything? Is civil litigation even practical from a cost/benefit perspective? Any Michigan law students/alumni on here looking for some pro bono work?

I see that cart pretty much weekly across from the Union and I hadn't seen those rip-offs before. True, I don't exactly study his wares, but I think I'd have noticed.

Do we have a way to find out who this is? Does he or does he not need a license to be vending on University property? If there are any attorneys here willing to pursue, I'm willing to assist with a little research.

Or, y'all could take the more immediately satisfying gsimmons85 response, but I'm not much help there. I hit like a girl.

Before we break out torches and pitchforks, are we reasonably certain the clothing wasn't purchased from Brian and simply is being resold at mark up?

Some quick observations:

Short phrases and elementary graphical shapes are not copyrightable. A combination of these might be protectable, however. So some of the clothing content may be subject to copyright while the rest may be public domain.

Did Brian originate the phrases/designs? If not, does he hold an assignment (title transfer) or exclusive license (permission) from the authors/designers? He'll need to qualify under one of these prereqs else he won't have "standing" to do anything about the situation directly.

Also, while copyright does vest instantly upon the creation and fixation of a protectable "work" in a tangible medium, a copyright claimant cannot sue or take any other action under US copyright law unless he has at least applied for a federal copyright registration. No exceptions.

Only federal courts can entertain copyright infringement actions. This costs money - probably a lot more than Brian could hope to recover even if he decided to proceed as his own lawyer.

Brian may have trade identity (trademark) claims available to him. He would have to show the content functions as a distinctive mark in commerce but wouldn't need to apply for registration - the common law and state statutes should be sufficient. Still this costs money.

Unfortunately, there are wrongs that cannot be remedied by law. This may be one of those situations.

Let's make sure the goods aren't genuine before we get all lawyerly.

Go Blue!

The white and light blue shirts in the picture say "Freshman Girls: Get Them While They're Skinny". Har Har. I'm going to jingle my keys at them so hard!

I've met the guy who runs these tents. He's the short filipino guy who is usually hanging out nearby while a couple of girls in school sell the shirts. He always rips off the t-shirt ideas, and is pretty unapologetic about it.

I think the real solution to the problem would not be to kick the guy's ass or burn up his cart, but for someone to hook up with Brian about setting up a tent of his own; it's been like two years or something since I talked to the guy, but I seem to recall that's the shirt salesman's biggest fear.

I mean, if you look at the shirts they're just shitty knockoffs; if you give the fans the choice between Brian's shirts with the better design and the un-watered-down joke (seriously, where's the "{of space}"), it's easy to see which they'd pick. It all depends how much Brian wants to get into shirt sales as a means of income.

What a ripoff!