Chamber Suing Yes Men for "Commercial Identity Theft"

[Hissyspit]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/chamber_suing_yes_men_for_commercial_identity_thef.php

Chamber Suing Yes Men For "Commercial Identity Theft"
Zachary Roth | October 27, 2009, 9:57AM

Calling last week's hoax by the Yes Men "nothing less than commercial identity theft masquerading as social activism," the Chamber of Commerce is suing the prankster group and its allies for trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising, reports Mother Jones.

The Yes Men -- actors Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos (who also use the names Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, respectively), last week held a fake press conference in Washington DC, along with activists from the Avaaz Action Factory, in which they impersonated Chamber executives and announced that the group had shifted its opposition to real efforts at tackling global warming. A press release announcing the event fooled Reuters and other news outlets into reporting that the Chamber had changed its stance.

The Chamber's complaint charges that the stunt was an effort to promote the new Yes Men movie, The Yes Men Fix The World.

MORE

[depakid]

1. You can't buy better- and for the Chamber- worse publicity

than through filing a SLAPP suit.

Let the ridicule begin!

[Luminous Animal]

4. It will cost The Yes Men money, though.

And seriously hamstring their attempts to distribute the movie.

The Yes Men links..
http://theyesmenfixtheworld.com/index.htm

http://challenge.theyesmen.org/

[Bucky]

5. Really? I think it'll help them gin up an audience.

This move by the Chamber was pretty predictable. Since their intention all along was to "get caught" in the hoax, I'd be very surprised if they didn't already have a pretty solid "fair use" defense lined up. These aren't the first fat-cats the Yes Men have spoofed.

[Luminous Animal]

8. It might increase their audience but

they are short on funds right now. Their opening events in NY cost them a lot of more money than they expected and they don't expect to see a return until video release. And they will have to hire lawyers to mount that pretty solid fair use defense.

I am familiar with The Yes Men having worked with them in a previous incarnation called the Barbie Liberation Organization: http://sniggle.net/barbie.php

[onehandle]

2. Good. The Yes Men could have given the Chamber a bad name.

:sarcasm:

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[krispos42]

3. "I don't care what they say about me just as long as they spell our names right!"

I bet the Yes Men are saying right now...



Translation: USCC is a bunch of uptight assholes with zero ability to laugh at themselves.

[aquart]

6. Right of Parody, assholes.

[drm604]

7. Yes draw attention to it,

and make everyone hate you even more. Talk about clueless.

[Canuckistanian]

11. Exactly. The CofC is nothing but a giant PR firm

This is NOT the kind of PR you want.

It not only shows that they're mean-spirited, but also a bunch of thin-skinned jerks who can't take a joke.

[SpiralHawk]

9. What a pack of Republicon whiners the Chamber has become...

This is going to blow back in their Republicon Homelander faceds -- lots more decent companies going to bail on them and their twisted politics.

The Chamber oughta stick to business -- and keep their Fox-Fried brains out of politics.

[Bitwit1234]

10. But folks

if this lawsuit is allowed to go ahead...why can't the people who the republicans stole the ID's of and posted Facebook accounts sue...If it were me, I would sue just for the Hades of it.

[NashVegas]

12. Fine. Let Them Sue Twitter

fear is going to leave you crippled for life

[trof]

13. C of C shut down Yes Men website host too.

WASHINGTON - October 23 - Hundreds of activist organizations had their internet service turned off last night after the US Chamber of Commerce strong-armed an upstream provider, Hurricane Electric, to pull the plug on The Yes Men and May First / People Link, a 400-member-strong organization with a strong commitment to protecting free speech.

"This is a blow against free speech, and it demostrates in gory detail the full hypocrisy of the Chamber," said Andy Bichlbaum of The Yes Men. "The only freedom they care about is the economic freedom of large corporations to operate free of the hassles of science, reality, and democracy."

After suffering embarrassment at the hands of the Yes Men on Monday, the Chamber immediately threatened legal action, then followed through Thursday by sending a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice to Hurricane Electric Internet Services. In the DMCA notice, the Chamber claimed that the parody Chamber website operated by The Yes Men constituted copyright infringement, and demanded that the site be shut down immediately and that the creator's service be canceled.

But the Yes Men are not served directly by Hurricane Electric, but by May First / People Link. And when Hurricane Electric shut down the fake Chamber of Commerce site (now relocated), they also took down the websites of 400 other organizations.
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/10/23-5

Classy, real classy.
:sarcasm:

[tanyev]

14. I hope those 400 organizations are all looking for a new service provider.