Wearing a Hog Nose Without Permission
Dave McKenna of the Washington City Paper reports on what may be the silliest IP claim yet -- a group of men claiming federal protection of their exclusive right to wear pig noses and women's clothes at Washington Redskins games:
As if things weren't bad enough in Redskins Land, a dire APB went out to hardcore fans over the weekend: The man calling himself "Stephette Hogette" is not a real Hogette.
Sure, the guy's rubber snout and his ladies garb, to the untrained eye, make Stephette Hogette look exactly like the authentic Hogettes, superfans who have been dressing in drag since 1983 but won't give up their gimmick all these years after it outlived its cuteness. But don't be fooled: Not just anybody can align themselves with these douchebags.
"It has come to our attention that an individual is representing himself to be a Hogette," read the warning, which was posted late last week on Skins message boards and fan sites, including Dan Snyder's official Redskins blog and ExtremeSkins.com. "Please be aware that 'HOGETTES' is a Registered Trademark and the Hogette likeness is COPYWRITED. He is currently in violation of both federal and state statutes.
"We have a very stringent set of rules and guidelines on who can become a Hogette and we monitor all of our members to insure that inappropriate action does not occur. We are very disturbed that someone would portray us in a negative manner and try to insure that this does not happen. However, from time to time we find it necessary to protect our Trademark and Copyright. If you feel that you have been approached by an impostor or become aware of a potential impostor, please contact us immediately at hogettes.org or hogettes.net."
Comments (5)
Deefburger
Uh, will we get in trouble if we report lipstick on pigs?
What about trick-or-treaters?
There's a drag queen somewhere with a rubber nose and a chip on her shoulder...
OOH! watchout at the office halloween party, Mardi Gras, San Fransisco Gay Pride March, etc. etc.
(?????)
Published: October 15, 2009 4:18 PM
Megan
Wow, these gentlemen (?) take their lipstick and pig noses very, very seriously. I am unclear what law is being broken by the poseur hogette. Federal and state statutes? Ha...somehow I always thought of intellectual property as more...well, intellectual.
Published: October 15, 2009 6:08 PM
Ribald
Not all IP claims are held up in court. Many are frivolous, as my (untrained) eye tells me this one is, and this one in particular hasn't even gone to court. Is it the fault of IP law that groups can make IP claims such as these, or is it the fault of the 1st amendment?
Published: October 16, 2009 1:30 AM
(8?»
So, IP is also a douchebag alignment tool?
Who knew?
Published: October 16, 2009 5:29 PM
Lee
Assuming this (unofficial) hogette won a hypothetical IP case, it would be a bit of a Pyrrhic victory, wouldn't it?
Yeah, you won... but you won the right to wear drag and a pig nose and call yourself a hogette. Great.
Published: October 17, 2009 2:31 PM