Posted on 11/01/2013 10:34:20 AM PDT by JoeProBono
BALTIMORE, - A Maryland man whose products parodying a pair of government agencies resulted in cease-and-desist orders is suing the agencies in federal court.
Dan McCall, whose LibertyManiacs.com website sells T-shirts and coffee mugs poking fun at the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, said Zazzle.com, a website that puts custom designs on T-shirts, mugs and other products, refused to sell his items after receiving a cease-and-desist order from the agencies in 2011, Courthouse News Service reported Thursday.
One of the designs alters the DHS logo to read "Department of Homeland Stupidity," while another advertises the other agency as, "The NSA: The only part of government that actually listens."
McCall, whose products are now being sold through similar website CafePress.com, filed a federal lawsuit in Baltimore saying his products make fair use of the agencies' seals "to identify federal government agencies as the subject of criticism."
The lawsuit argues it's unconstitutional for the government to forbid him to sell his products to "customers who want to display the items to express their own criticisms of NSA and DHS."
The suit seeks a declaratory judgment.
The NSA and DHS did not respond to requests for comment, Courthouse News Service reported.
It is unthinkink and unfeelink to insult the organs of der Staten!
Meanwhile, I want these shirts.
The criticism is protected free speech, no doubt. The issue is the use of the logos.
For instance, this is from NASA regarding the use of their material:
NASA still images; audio files; video; and computer files used in the rendition of 3-dimensional models, such as texture maps and polygon data in any format, generally are not copyrighted. You may use NASA imagery, video, audio, and data files used for the rendition of 3-dimensional models for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages. This general permission extends to personal Web pages.My take is this is to prevent someone from giving the impression that NASA endorses their work or opinion, or to prevent someone from impersonating NASA.This general permission does not extend to use of the NASA insignia logo (the blue "meatball" insignia), the retired NASA logotype (the red "worm" logo) and the NASA seal. These images may not be used by persons who are not NASA employees or on products (including Web pages) that are not NASA-sponsored.
I think the t-shirt is not a badge or insignia.
This is not about impersonation...it is about parody. Parodies are protected speech.
a pair of dd’s can leave me speechless
The NSA: The only part of government that actually listens
good one!!!!! I’m making it my tagline, I am Spartacus!!!!
just an udder cold day in elle
my pa has a pair if CIA car plates he puts those on and parks where ever he wants
Yes, you certainly do
Do I know you? You are pretty funny. (rudeness not intended)
NSA does not get to make the law...yet.
They can whine all they want, but parody is protected speech.
yeah you did a do know me in 07 09 011 and now 013 and i have 4 suspensions to prove it
Light blue. Christmas. Yes. Orrrrrrrr Santa Cruz Sour Dough.
The purpose of 18 USC § 701 is to prevent individuals from making fraudulent IDs that would lead somebody to think that the holder of the ID/insignia was a government agent. These parody shirts do not do that.
Please note post #49
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group.[1][2] Despite achieving only limited commercial success, the band was a major influence on the punk rock movement in both the United States and, perhaps to a greater extent, in the United Kingdom.
All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname “Ramone”, although none of them were related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years.[2] In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played a farewell concert and disbanded.[3] Only a little more than eight years after the breakup, all three of the band’s founding members—lead singer (and, at the time of founding, drummer) Joey Ramone, guitarist Johnny Ramone, and bassist Dee Dee Ramone—had died
http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.14184760.8584/fig,heather_grey,mens,ffffff.2.jpg
Peeping while you’re sleeping t-shirt - $24.54
http://www.redbubble.com/people/libertymaniacs/works/10468584-the-nsa
lol...
I shouldn’t be laughing though!
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