Sex Pistols Claiming Trademark Infringement? Because Selling Out Is So Punk Rock
from the god-save-the-cream dept
I first heard about the Icecreamist's "Sex Pistols: God Save the Cream" ice cream + absinthe monstrosity (served out of an IV drip?!?) a few weeks ago when my friend Jean had one for breakfast (wait... breakfast?!?). Either way, it was amusing to see ice cream go punk rock/extreme. However, apparently the rights holders for the Sex Pistols are none too pleased. Lawrence D'Oliveiro (without a link!) alerts us that the Sex Pistols are threatening legal action over the ice cream. Now, my guess is that the Pistols have a decent enough trademark claim here. The menu in Jean's photos clearly show the drink called "The Sex Pistol" with the tagline "God Save the Cream" (a play on the Pistol's "God Save the Queen"). However, it doesn't seem particularly punk rock to be filing trademark infringement lawsuits, does it? As the Icecreamists are saying:"We are a bit dumbfounded that a group that made its reputation for being banned is trying to ban one of our ice creams and claim copyright over the national anthem and the Queen."
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: ice cream, sex pistols, trademark
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
To argue that the Sex Pistols were somehow above monetary gain shows you know absolutely nothing about their origins or history.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anyone know if Rotten is actively trying to retire or is this just a turn of the wheel to which the remaining members long ago sold out?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
And I hope every old Pistols fan in the audience feels really bad about all the names they called the Boomtown Rats now.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Personally I'm glad NOFX and Bad Religion are still going though I miss a lot of the older bands (especially X-Ray Spex and Siouxse and the Banshees).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Sex Pistols were all marketing, all hype, and only a little music. Why be surprised?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
To ever be truly punk rock, you'd have to first refuse to be a cog in the machine. Once you sign a contract, you get your cog membership card and secret decoder ring; you're no longer punk rock anyway.
The only way to not be a "sell out" and have a record contract is never to have ideals to begin with. Then there's nothing to "sell out" of.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
"All you know about me is what I sold you
Dumb fuck
I sold out long before you ever even heard my name
I sold my soul to make a record
Dipshit
Then you bought one"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
The less crafty might want to just look for a non RIAA label to start out on before setting up their own when they make some money. Like Fat Mike of NOFX did.
Personally, and as I keep saying, I'm rather fond of the magnatune.com way of doing things.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Thanks For The Credit
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
They _may_ have a dilution claim, but it's a bit of a stretch. They have a better copyright claim, premised on the "God Save the Cream" banner which is clearly based off an old Pistol's album cover... unless the banner is a parody (certainly could be understood that way).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Real Punks...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Obviously, someone who knows nothing about them and wants to score a cheap rhetorical point against a group of people (punks) he's not a member of and knows not much about. You know, an ignorant bigot.
Rock on, dude.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Ha! This story wasn't about making a point about punks. And, honestly, what does making fun of a silly trademark dispute have to do with being a bigot?
Anyway, anyone who thinks that punk is about membership has some learning to do.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
You think punks are a group? My membership card must be in the mail. Else-wise, maybe punk music is about expressing yourself rather than being part of a group.
I'm guessing if you met me you'd call me a hippy for having long hair because you sure sound like more of a ignorant bigot than Mike does.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
punks
yeah, i think they are.
and allergic to soap and toothpaste.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Punk Still Trendy?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Missing the story
http://www.nme.com/news/sex-pistols/47841
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
At least Sex Pistols are in the right...
I completely thought that this was endorsed by the Sex Pistols. It took me until nearly the end of the article to figure out exactly why they were suing, because I figured there was *no way* a company would flat out use a popular band's trademarked name in the name of their product like that without permission. It's just so *stupid*.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]