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Best Buy Takes On Bloggers Over Polo Shirts

(WCCO) Best Buy Corporation has asked a New York City comedy troupe to remove satirical polo shirts from its online store.

The Richfield, Minn. based retailer sent a Cease & Desist letter to Improv Everywhere and its shirt retailer "Neighborhoodies." It's also sent a letter to a San Francisco blog, Laughing Squid, which had reported on the T-shirt design.

The design emerged after Improv Everywhere carried out and videotaped a prank at a New York City Best Buy story. In April 2006, 80 people dressed up in khaki pants and blue shirts, mimicking the appearance of Best Buy employees. After the video and pictures of the prank were posted on Improv Everywhere's Web site, the comedy troupe decided to sell polo shirts to commemorate the prank.

The shirts were in the same color as the best Buy uniform, with a yellow-tag logo reading "Improv Everywhere."

The Web sites named in the Cease and Desist letters posted copies of the letters online. Best Buy confirmed the veracity of the letters to WCCO-TV.

According to the letter to Improv Everywhere, Best Buy's attorneys allege that the T-shirts "may cause confusion as to any affiliation between you, Best Buy, and/or Best Buy's marks."

The attorney adds, it "may also dilute the distinctive quality of the BEST BUY mark, logo."

"When a big, big company goes after a little, little infringer, the game is usually over pretty quickly," said Laura Hein, a Minneapolis attorney specializing in trademark law with Gray, Plant, Mooty.

Indeed, Improv Everywhere removed the T-shirts from its site, and Neighborhoodies took the shirts off-line as well.

"Arguably people wearing those shirts could impersonate. At least Best Buy has some kind of legal argument," said Hein.

Late Wednesday, Best Buy apologized to the creators of the Laughing Squid Web site, writing, "We do not object to fair and accurate reporting of the facts…. We regret sending you the demand letter."

Hein said she cautions her clients against aggressively going after a target that doesn't truly pose a risk to the mark-holder's reputation.

"A company can suffer more harm to its reputation or goodwill by that, than by the conduct that caused the Cease and Desist letter in the first place," said Hein.

"We want to protect our mark to ensure its integrity," said Dawn Bryant, Best Buy spokeswoman. "We don't have to wait until damage to our brand occurs; we want to protect it in advance."

 

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