
HBO takedown on 13-year-old girl's painting because it used 'Winter is coming' - protomyth
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/12/08/winter_is_coming_hbo_dmca_trademark/
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ChicagoBoy11
If the parents choose to fight this, they will surely win and may even be
rewarded with a decent settlement.

The recent Lenz decision by the Supreme Court made it a lot more challenging
for companies to just blanket-issue DMCA requests because it forces them to
take fair use considerations in mind -- that would handle any copyright claim
made against the phrase. Wrt trademark, there is absolutely no argument that
could sustain the notion that somehow this girl's painting is confusing others
as to the fact that it may be official GoT material.

Sadly, this is an unfortunate collective action problem. I understand that it
is too much of a hassle and could be too costly for that single family to try
to fight this on their own, so in 99.9% of these cases these companies just
win by default. But a huge reason why the resort to those strategies is the
fact that they count on people not taking them to task in the first place. I
have no good answer for this, though.

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mitjam
The picture is a great piece of art all by itself. The act of HBO adds only
further depth and meaning, heightened by the very phrase itself. It should be
printed and hung in the MoMA.

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cestith
IANAL, but the last time I checked The 'C' in DMCA didn't come from it being
the 'Digital Millennium Trademark Act'.

Also, I fail to see the likely misidentification of this merchandise in the
market, especially considering it wasn't for offer in the market.

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disposablezero
Donald Trump-level DMCA takedowns on Xerox-level pop culture lexicon material.
I call bullshit.

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Neliquat
Another slightly ham fisted IP protection. I hate to say it, but they do have
not just the right, but the duty to protect their brand. The article did not
mention if any of these sites monitized, claimed copyright of uploads, etc.
That is Very relevant info that seems omitted by the author of this clickbaity
article.

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cableshaft
Yeah, but it's not like 'Winter is Coming' was a completely uncommon phrase
before Game of Thrones existed, it just blew it up so that most people assume
you're making a Game of Thrones reference now.

What if some show took something like 'Her life is in your hands' and made it
so popular that most people assume you're referencing that show when you do?
Would they be able to do cease and desists because of it?

By the way, add 'dude' to the above phrase and it's already a popular Big
Lebowski quote.

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Neliquat
Agreed, but this article neglects to mention most pertinent details while the
13yo autistic girl is bandied about to make it ok.

1\. This was not HBO, but one of their many, often hyperactive IP firms.

2\. IP firms are hyperactive because the law tells them if they aren't, they
lose credibility in the eyes of the court in future cases.

3\. The content, clearly GoT inspired, was likely posted in places that have
agreements jeopardizing the ownership of said content and, yes i am
stretching, copyright and trademark.

Is it ham fisted? Absolutely, I opened with that. But is it expected? Is this
bad journalism? Absolutely it is.

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paulddraper
> This was not HBO, but one of their many, often hyperactive IP firms

I don't think the distinction between the company and its
employees/contractors is relevant here. If the employee/contractor
consistently went against the company's wishes, they wouldn't be an
employee/contractor.

