The Donald Sends Cease And Desist Threat To Band Over The Use Of His Name In Music And Video

from the drumpf dept

So, the political season is really starting to ramp up now, which means the insanity ramps up along with it. This particular go around in presidential politics has been particularly absurd, causing even those of us that try to view it all through the prism of entertainment to be more than a little frightened. Still, there can be no doubt that there has been an uptick in the engagement level of the American people, including from musical artists looking to provide commentary on American politics. Take this song and video released by music duo Fight Clvb, for instance. It's called Donald Trump and it is massively NSFW.

Not exactly William F. Buckley levels of political analysis or commentary there, but there's no provision for quality when it comes to expression. Still, Fight Clvb doesn't exactly have a massive following and that particular song of course will not be making it onto national airwaves anywhere. It's the kind of thing that has a niche audience that never really finds the masses.

Until, of course, Donald (f@#$ing) Trump decides to be his normally litigious self and sends out a cease and desist letter to the band over the use of his name and image in the video.

When you get that cease and desist from Donald Trump's attorney :/ Posted by Fight Clvb on Wednesday, February 24, 2016

If you'll all climb aboard, the Streisand Express is now leaving the station. Yes, rather than simply ignoring what would have been a narrowly viewed music video, His Donald-ness instead has decided to give those of us that cover intellectual property a reason to more widely disperse said music video as we cover his bullying ways. Trump is famously thin-skinned when it comes to anyone using his name or likeness in any way, of course, but the letter that was sent has me scratching my head. Trademark violation? I was unaware that Trump had entered into the music industry. If he hasn't, I'm unclear on where the common marketplace is between Fight Clvb and Donald Trump, nor am I clear on exactly how or where customers are going to be confused as to any of this. That the letter also claims infringement on Donald's other simply-named "rights" only adds to the confusion.

The music group, apparently, isn't going to play along.

Fight Clvb posted again yesterday, saying that they just got off the phone with legal counsel. Stating that the Cease & Desist is generally used as a scare tactic, Fight Clvb isn’t planning on following any of the orders of action at this time, opting instead to be rabble-rousers.

I for one am of the opinion that opting to be a rabble-rouser is always the proper course to take. Still, I imagine the group is pleased to see a bit of the spotlight, all because Trump decided to send a threat letter rather than ignore a barely-legible bit of political commentary. Not exactly the kind of measured and informed thinking one would want in a president, I think.

Filed Under: cease and desist, copyright, donald trump, fight clvb, publicity rights, streisand effect, trademark