RIGHTS FOR THE RICH AND POWERFUL
Nike Campaign "Borrows" Album Art

From Pitchfork courtesy of my old pal Matt:



Exhibit A: Classic cover art of Minor Threat's self-titled 1984 compilation.
Exhibit B: Nike Skateboarding's poster image for its "Major Threat" 2005 East Coast Tour.

And

Just to make sure Dischord hadn't truly gone back on everything they've ever stood for, we asked a representative from the label if Nike had asked to borrow the image. They said the following: "No, they stole it and we're not happy about it. Nike is a giant corporation which is attempting to manipulate the alternative skate culture to create an even wider demand for their already ubiquitous brand. Nike represents just about the antithesis of what Dischord stands for and it makes me sick to my stomach to think they are using this explicit imagery to fool kids into thinking that the general ethos of this label, and Minor Threat in particular, can somehow be linked to Nike's mission. It's disgusting."

Click here for the rest.

It's pretty clear that so-called "intellectual property rights" only apply if your corporation has a large staff of lawers ready to sue the hell out of anyone who infringes. What's that you say? You don't have your own corporation? Tough shit: you don't have any intellectual property rights.

This is outrageous because Minor Threat was pretty much a pioneer of the hardcore punk genre, and band leader Ian MacKaye has managed to stay true to his anti-establishment roots for over twenty years, which is really something in this era when the Dead Kennedys are violently ramming the corporate cucumber into former bandmate and leftist rabble rouser Jello Biafra while they laugh all the way to the bank. It's no surprise that the original third world sweat shop labor exploiter, Nike, is behind this brazen and unholy transubstantiation of anti-corporate rage into contemporary commercial pablum.

The really sad thing is that Nike has the ability to keep any potential copyright infringement lawsuit tied up for years, bankrupting Dischord in the process. Like I said, "intellectual property rights" are only for the rich and powerful, which makes sense because our "democracy" is only for the rich and powerful, too. Those damned bastards are going to get away with it.

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