Misfits Sue Book Publisher for Unauthorized Use of Logo

On this episode of a punk rock bands being pissed off: The Misfits are not happy with Scream With Me – The Enduring Legacy of the Misfits.

Described as “the ultimate visual history paying tribute to one of punk’s most iconic bands,” the 176-page book is dedicated entirely to The Misfits, full of their logo, fan art, flyers, album art, and more. You would think that the publishers — Abrams Books — would have gotten permission to use these images.

However, on March 19, a complaint was filed by Misfits A.D., which is the band’s liability company established by Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only to own and manage intellectual property. They claimed that the book “is rife with large-scale, repeated, and unlicensed reproductions of Misfits A.D. intellectual property. For example, the cover of the photobook prominently displays, without authorization, the Misfits A.D. ‘Fiend Skull design’ trademark and, in doing so, misleads consumers into believing that the photo book has been approved by, or is associated with, Misfits A.D., which is indisputably false.” They are… not wrong.

They demanded a cease and desist from promoting, advertising or selling the book. It’s still available for sale, so it looks like this case is still in the midst. If I were the book publisher, I wouldn’t piss off a bunch of old dudes who have been pissed off their whole lives. How do you go through all of this trouble to commemorate The Misfits and not even ask them for permission? Not very punk of them.

This is just a sequel to the other time the Misfits went to court over their logo. Well, the first time was actually kind of unwarranted and embarrassing, because it was a petty fight between Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only. That? Awkward. This? Eh, I get it.

[via]