I was only vaguely aware of Threadnaught in that I was aware of the case and following several of the people involved. I've always liked legal conversations, but I never twittered often. I follow...
I was only vaguely aware of Threadnaught in that I was aware of the case and following several of the people involved. I've always liked legal conversations, but I never twittered often. I follow almost/all of them in Bluesky now to great entertainment and some education.
Perhaps my favorite recently has been Mike Dunford's recent work on behalf of a company selling Fuck the LAPD merch.
The short version is that the owner of the company received a DCMA ish takedown letter that was also trying to be a cease and desist from the Los Angeles Police Department/ Foundation saying that the merch was infringing in the trademark of the LAPD/F (the letter referenced both). You'll note the difference between a copyright takedown letter and a trademark claim. That's relevant later.
The first response went to the lawyer who sent the initial letter and said
"LOL, No"
Signed Mike Dunford, PhD
Bar number
The second response, sent about the same time was to the firm and essentially covered that either the initial lawyer was such an idiot as to confuse the DCMA and trademark claims or that this was in such bad faith as to be in violation of the DCMA laws. It demanded a good reason why the LAPD/F shouldn't be required to pay for the representation the company had to hire. It made it clear that no one buying "Fuck the LAPD" merch had any chance of thinking they were buying it from the LAPD. And that if the LAPD didn't like being insulted, they should try not doing things that would make people want to buy this merch. This will be hard, but not as hard as winning this case.
It was, frankly, right up there with the famous "some asshole is sending stupid letters with your name on it" response to a lawyer by a baseball team (the Browns maybe?). It probably sets the record for number of times "Fuck the LAPD" is said in a court document. Also fwiw the design of the merch is a takeoff of the Lakers logo. Which amuses me in this context.
Personally I have zero need for an attorney but, uh, I'd definitely want to hire someone like these folks based on what I've read.
Less meme-y I did like in particular that they're good at explaining weird online/technical shit to lay people which means that people have a fair chance of getting what they're owed instead of a judge being confused about what discord is.
This is hilarious, thank you for posting. If I'd known that arguing online could get me a job, I would have been a lot more strategic during my reddit days!
This is hilarious, thank you for posting.
If I'd known that arguing online could get me a job, I would have been a lot more strategic during my reddit days!
I was only vaguely aware of Threadnaught in that I was aware of the case and following several of the people involved. I've always liked legal conversations, but I never twittered often. I follow almost/all of them in Bluesky now to great entertainment and some education.
Perhaps my favorite recently has been Mike Dunford's recent work on behalf of a company selling Fuck the LAPD merch.
The short version is that the owner of the company received a DCMA ish takedown letter that was also trying to be a cease and desist from the Los Angeles Police Department/ Foundation saying that the merch was infringing in the trademark of the LAPD/F (the letter referenced both). You'll note the difference between a copyright takedown letter and a trademark claim. That's relevant later.
The first response went to the lawyer who sent the initial letter and said
"LOL, No"
Signed Mike Dunford, PhD
Bar number
The second response, sent about the same time was to the firm and essentially covered that either the initial lawyer was such an idiot as to confuse the DCMA and trademark claims or that this was in such bad faith as to be in violation of the DCMA laws. It demanded a good reason why the LAPD/F shouldn't be required to pay for the representation the company had to hire. It made it clear that no one buying "Fuck the LAPD" merch had any chance of thinking they were buying it from the LAPD. And that if the LAPD didn't like being insulted, they should try not doing things that would make people want to buy this merch. This will be hard, but not as hard as winning this case.
It was, frankly, right up there with the famous "some asshole is sending stupid letters with your name on it" response to a lawyer by a baseball team (the Browns maybe?). It probably sets the record for number of times "Fuck the LAPD" is said in a court document. Also fwiw the design of the merch is a takeoff of the Lakers logo. Which amuses me in this context.
Techdirt's follow up including a link to the letter with thoughtful highlights.
Personally I have zero need for an attorney but, uh, I'd definitely want to hire someone like these folks based on what I've read.
Less meme-y I did like in particular that they're good at explaining weird online/technical shit to lay people which means that people have a fair chance of getting what they're owed instead of a judge being confused about what discord is.
This is hilarious, thank you for posting.
If I'd known that arguing online could get me a job, I would have been a lot more strategic during my reddit days!
Link sans paywall: https://archive.ph/afQby