North Face Lawsuit Against South Butt Going Viral With Facebook App

from the can-you-tell-a-butt-from-a-face dept

Following North Face's incredibly short-sighted decision to sue parody clothing maker, South Butt, it seems that the story is going viral in a variety of ways. Not only is the press and various blogs talking about it, but Paul Alan Levy alerts us to the news that South Butt has released a Facebook app that helps you "sharpen your skills" to see if you can "tell a butt from a face." As Levy notes, this sort of application and attention gaining effort shows why these types of lawsuits are likely to bite you in the butt. Even if there's a legal basis here (and that's questionable), the backlash against such a lawsuit is clear (and was widely predicted when North Face first made its threat). Anyone filing lawsuits these days needs to realize how the court of public opinion can weigh in quite loudly on such things.
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Filed Under: backlash, facebook app, lawsuits, trademark, viral
Companies: facebook, north face, south butt


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  1. identicon
    MLS, 24 Dec 2009 @ 1:51pm

    Cute, by I do hope that this kid realizes that he is digging himself even deeper into a hole.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    interrobang!?, 24 Dec 2009 @ 2:34pm

    actually the app could work in his favour. if used as evidance in court showing a loarge proportion of people being able to make a distinction between face and butt (maybe some mistakes for the butt-ugly?) then it may be able to get off the trademark infringment claim. and it may even increase sales untill an injunction is requested

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. icon
    BearGriz72 (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 2:37pm

    Re: (by MLS)

    "Cute, by I do hope that this kid realizes that he is digging himself even deeper into a hole."

    What hole is he digging? Did you read any of the linked previous posts? As far as I can tell this is a pretty clear case that the kid has a fair-use argument in the aspect that it is a clear parody. Not to say that North Face wont bury him in legal fees.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), 24 Dec 2009 @ 3:01pm

    Re:

    I do hope that this kid realizes that he is digging himself even deeper into a hole.

    Perhaps you could expand on that. I do not see how he is digging a hole at all. It would appear like quite the opposite. He is proving the lack of confusion, and doing so in a way that should make quite clear why North Face made a huge mistake in bringing this lawsuit.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 24 Dec 2009 @ 5:38pm

    Trial By Media

    Always a good way to decide important questions...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    ~xL^, 24 Dec 2009 @ 6:45pm

    It's just a matter of time

    NFace has done a lot of harm to their brand by suing. It's only a matter of time before US kids are hooking their nintendos up to embroidery machines (no bs, actual product) if they get viral fame. Kids just wanna buck any image that is plastered on them, and the early reports of this story were more focused on the clicky nature of other students wearing NF apparel. Not a guide idea for the brand at all.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Dec 2009 @ 9:52pm

    The phrase "North Face" makes me think of the Matterhorn, not some directionally obsessed person.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Brian the Ubergeek, 26 Dec 2009 @ 6:07am

    I seem to recall ...

    There was a small company several years ago that made 'designer' jeans called "Lard Ash". Jordache sued them, and I believe that the Lard Ash company won, but they lost so much money to the lawyers that they went out of business. I hope SB fares better.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Chicago Fence, 28 Dec 2009 @ 7:00pm

    North Face just isn't what it used to be and the public is taking notice.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Jan 2010 @ 12:44pm

    never stop relaxing

    who ever heard of extreme skiing a mogels butt,
    competing in the north face masters snowboarding on your butt
    going butt first up a climb on a mountain
    or rafting a river --backwards
    good thing north face isn't marketing to hunters or the butt of that rifle might really hurt.
    gee did anybody ever know that a tee shirt it to most widely used global art for talking about changes in living.
    that fleece is really great to walk your dog and mans favorite friend wears one too especially to cover the other end.
    that backpacks carry anything anywhere not just during exploring
    sweatshirts are for everyone not just elitest outdoor dirt bags.
    vf(the parent owner of north ace) was really only a lingerie and loungewear clothing company when they started in business, then they decided to explore buying other company's to get out of their silky undies.

    Sounds like "never stop exploring" is really all about how many brands can VF own at one time, not anything to do with a kid trying to make a buck.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    chiropractic marketing, 20 Mar 2010 @ 8:31am

    chiropractic marketing

    What Chiropractors Are Doing Right Now To Dominate Their Area, Get A Continuous Flow of New Patients, And Establish Themselves As THE Authority In Their.Chiropractic Internet Marketing Tactics That Actually Work For Attracting New Patients Online.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. Too funny, yet I want one of their jackets

    Living in Boulder, Colorado everyone sports North Face gear. This lawsuit is a blessing in disguise as now South Butt can be a global brand (well...maybe not). I would like to see what their down jacket looks like anyhow!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Memory Foam Mattress Topper, 26 May 2011 @ 7:48pm

    North FAce

    The phrase North Face makes me think of the Matterhorn, not some directionally obsessed person.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    Oakland Restaurants, 27 May 2011 @ 9:31am

    North Face

    Kids just wanna buck any image that is plastered on them, and the early reports of this story were more focused on the clicky nature of other students wearing NF apparel. Not a guide idea for the brand at all.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    gaounion.net, 1 Nov 2011 @ 8:53am

    Wonderful site! Thank you very much for sharing this with us

    link to this | view in thread ]


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