Where have all the Nazi's gone?

In case you're wondering what happened to the BOYS OF NUREMBERG post featuring Nazis in mock Abercrombie & Fitch ads. They were removed because of threatened legal action by A&F. Read on:

Hi there:

Regretfully, I’m informing you that we received a stack of paperwork from the lawyers that represent Abercrombie and Fitch asking to remove your posts, photos, and all content you placed on your TypePad blog http://phototopia.typepad.com/ with the Nazi photographs related to their brand name, Abercrombie and Fitch.

They have requested all content and photos related to this be removed, which we have done. As per the Terms of Service you agreed to when you signed up for the service, (http://www.sixapart.com/typepad_terms), you are obligated not to:

(f) upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, rights of privacy or publicity, or other proprietary rights of any party;

Thanks,

Six Apart

Comments

[christian]

so why did you infringe any patents or trademarks? you didn't produce the posters. you just reported about what you have seen... so you are not allowed to report about things that happened, when there is a company name in it? i always thought the us is the land of the free and of free speech. :-(

[dabitch]

Pixellate/blur the A&F font (that is, their trademark) and re-post. In the text you can spell out that it's some street art with the Abercrombie & Fitch logo on it. Presto, you're legal.

[dabitch]

(AFAIK but IANAL, still it has worked for people before)

[paralegal]

In the UK it would come through the legal loophole for satire (i.e. free speech). Just make clear it's not a real A&F ad. They wouldn't sue because doing so would obliterate their public image.

[Chris]

Thanks for the tips. We're working to get new images up soon.

[alexis]

Quite right; you did nothing but report what you saw, and we were all the better for it. Anyway, Leni Riefenstahl, did it all much better, and A & F didn't even have to pay her.

[JG]

You guys are so badass! I have total blog envy.

[Farleft]

The material is, as "dabitch" points out, satire, and A&F
has NO legal right to ask that it be removed because of
copyright infringement. They're asking because that's what
they do. And your complying is what they hope for. They
count on most people being intimated by the lawyers.

The actual copyright infringement is on the creators of the satire. If they asked you to remove the material, they'd have a legitimate case.

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

Farleft, I'm sure you're right. The more immediate question is whether 6Apart would rather can Phototopia than take the heat from A&F's intellectual property lawyers.

For all I know, Phototopia could then sue 6A--seeing as P-topia didn't actually violate any Terms of Use agreement. Probably wouldn't be worth it, though.

Besides the word is out about both 6A's disloyalty to its customers and the A&F posters.

[Kenny]

Sounds fake, anyway. They just wanted to scare you into taking it down. I doubt anyone received a 'stack of papers' from lawyers. Nonsense.

[Kay]

I am a german student and now looking for people / ex staff who have

been working at Abercrombie and Fitch for a longer time.

I am writing my dissertation and the theme is "Successful business

concept - Abercrombie and Fitch"

Therefore I need feedback from (ex) employees, which want to give

some informations about this company. Good things, bad things, every

information is welcome!

This company will open their stores in 2009 in Germany and

unfortunately I can´t get any information of insiders in my country

yet.

Is anyone interested to give my some infos?

Mail: DaBookman@web.de

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