Western Union doesn’t like Bitcoin spoof ad, files DMCA takedown claim
27 11 2014[ed.: I’m surprised that Facebook complied, given that the DMCA doesn’t apply to trademark infringement. Will be interesting to see if the poster sues. Also surprised that the nature of the thing as parody didn’t dissuade FB from the takedown. Not to mention surprised over WU’s counsel filing a DMCA action for trademark case. Odd all around]
Facebook has taken down a parody of a Western Union ad posted on a Bitcoin news Facebook page, which was immediately re-published on reddit.
On Monday, the money transfer company filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claim with Facebook, alleging trademark infringement of its image. The claim was filed by Erin Schol, who is listed on LinkedIn as an assistant legal analyst for Western Union. However, the DMCA, as the name implies, only covers copyrighted material and not trademarks.
Kristin Kelly, a Western Union spokeswoman, told Ars in an e-mailed statement: “Western Union takes all brand matters seriously, and we take steps that we believe are necessary to protect our intellectual property interests.” She declined to respond to specific questions.
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