NOT THE SHARPEST KNIVES IN THE DRAWER: What A Bunch Of Jugheads!
Batik artist Barbara Holmes, a 33-year old mother of two who lives in a home in Talkeetna, AK, with an outhouse and no running water made 10 baby T-shirts and “onesies” with the words “Got breast milk?” hand-lettered on the front and sold most of them at a holiday fair in the senior center two years ago. Somehow, the California Milk Processor Board, which uses the slogan “Got milk?” in its advertising campaigns, somehow got wind of it and its Sacramento-based law firm sent her a “lawyer letter,” reports the Anchorage Daily News:
“The phrases ‘got breastmilk’ and ‘got milk?’ are similar except for the addition of the word 'breast,’” the lawyers wrote. “This difference is not enough to eliminate the likelihood that consumers will be confused about the origin of the products.”
People could think maybe the California Milk Processors Board is behind the “got breastmilk” T-shirts and onesies, the letter stated. Both slogans do involve types of milk.
That's just ridiculous, Holmes said in a telephone interview this week. Her creations were clearly a parody of the real thing.
“They say I'm going to confuse milk consumers,” she said. “How can you get confused between a boob and a bottle of milk from the store? They're two different kind of jugs.”
Still Holmes thought it prudent to hire an attorney to make the case that parody is protected speech under the First Amendment.
[Hat Tip: The Heel, an Ivy-educated attorney with a prestigious New York firm, and occasional contributor to this blog.]
Comments