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Smack Apparel made a t-shirt poking fun at noted dickhead Grayson Allen’s passion for tripping people. Duke University found out about the shirt’s existence, and unsurprisingly, they were none too pleased about it. They had intellectual property lawyer Susan Freya Olive send Smack Apparel a cease-and-desist letter.
https://twitter.com/SmackApparel/status/847820116805001216
Instead of calling it quits, Smack Apparel owner Wayne Curtiss is going to fight back. Via TMZ:
Smack ain’t exactly backing down … owner Wayne Curtiss shot back with a letter of his own to Duke’s lawyers claiming his right to create a satirical shirt is protected by the 1st Amendment.
Curtiss does, however, offer a compromise — he’ll fly out to Duke to ask 50 people if they believe the shirt is sponsored or endorsed by Duke or Grayson.
If more than 5 say ‘Yes,’ he’ll cease all production. If not, he wants to be reimbursed for his time and travel expenses.
I hate Allen and Duke as much as the next guy, but this is most definitely a losing battle for Curtiss. Despite his harebrained survey suggestion, it’s blatantly obvious that he has no legal right to make a shirt like that. You win again, NCAA, you always do.
