As ‘brand protection’ continue’s to be the buzz word in today’s cut throat market, we sometimes wonder if some take it all a little too seriously.
Take VW for example. Apparently little known artist Don Stewart has upset the ‘Teutonic’ car giant by re-drawing an image of a Beetle with a ball point pen.
Faster than you can say “beetle bug”, VW had its lawyers bearing down on Don with a cease-and-desist letter accusing the artist of seeking to “capitalize on and profit from the goodwill and reputation of VWoA by misappropriating VWoA’s registered trademarks and trade dress in its products.”
What a load of tosh! Anybody who visits Don’s gallery can see that he draws everything from Aeroplanes to Bag Pipes and has been doing so for 20 years. Whats his crime? Wanting to make a profit is hardly breaking the law is it?
VW are making themselves look silly here and should quietly let this one go, better still, they should purchase one of Don’s pictures as way of compensation for making his life a misery.
But Don is fighting back as he rightly puts it “On the advice of attorneys representing DS Art, and firm in our belief that we are fully protected by the rights and privileges embodied in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, we have decided to reinstate our beloved Bugs® to this web site.”
Good for you Don!