'LOL No:' Maker of 'F*CK THE LAPD' Shirt Laughs at Cops' Copyright Threat
'LOL No:' Maker of 'F*CK THE LAPD' Shirt Laughs at Cops' Copyright Threat
The LA Police Foundation claims to own the acronym "LAPD."
Wait, the LAPD is a government entity. They are funded with public taxpayer money.
They cannot own a copyright or a trademark. It belongs to the public.
EDIT: this is also why you can use NASA footage and audio recordings royalty free in your own works. Because you already paid for them.
You can use any US Military footage from dvidshub.net as well.
This is easy to get around, often the copyright will just be held by a contractor.
Unlike works of the U.S. government, works produced by contractors under government contracts are protected under U.S. copyright law . The holdership of the copyright depends on the terms of the contract and the type of work undertaken.
I don't think that's right, not least of all because they actually do have LAPD as a registered trademark.
The threat was sent by IMG Worldwide, a giant entertainment and sports agency, on behalf of the Los Angeles Police Foundation, which is the name of a private foundation that the Los Angeles Times calls “the LAPD’s secretive, multimillion-dollar private funding arm.” The LAPF has purchased surveillance tech, robots, drones, and Palantir licenses for the LAPD.
Yeah. They can gtfo with that shit.
It's unbelievably dangerous to allow the people tasked with enforcing the state's monopoly on violence to access secretive private funding.
At least the republicans destroying US institutions are mostly working on behalf of other states. Allowing your police to be beholden to private money is such an own goal.
LAPD: We've been pilloried for decades with our abusive practices. How can we fix this image?
Also LAPD:
Streisand Effect about to bite them in the ass.
Already did. Shirts are sold out.
Making threats. Like All Police Do.
Please don't spread misinformation.
The misinformation would be that cops don't make threats as part of their regular duties.
About what?
That would be a trademark matter, not copyright. It look like they do actually have LAPD as a registered trademark, but I doubt this would be considered trademark infringement, given the very low odd of "likelihood of confusion".
The Lakers might have a valid claim, though.
I don't think The Lakers would have a valid claim either, since this is clearly parody and parody is fair use.
Did they actually say they own the acronym for LAPD? Because... It's not an acronym. Unless this whole time we've been meant to say LAP'D like the racing term.. Or perhaps lahpud? Laypeedee? Hmmm the last one sounds a little too French adjacent perhaps.
arguing acronym vs initialism is not going to win you cool points with anybody
False. It won cool points with me. English language pedants are my people.
Law is 100% semantics. I don't need cool points. I'll be the squarest person in the room if it means police don't get their way.
This argument is going to crush in court!