Forever 21 is threatening to sue fashion blogger Rachel Kane, owner of WTForver21. The company accuses Kane and her satirical site of copyright infringement, and threatens a lawsuit if she doesn’t shut it down. While Kane originally decided to shut down the site, she changed her mind and is now standing up to the company.
Kane has every right to continue the site without fear of lawsuit. As she explains,
It contains only criticism, commentary, and news reporting, all written in an educational and humorous manner, which are protected under applicable law. To the extent any of the material used on the site is in fact subject to intellectual property protection (which, in many instances, is by no means clear), the site’s incorporation of that material is a “fair use” under copyright, trademark law, and similar state law
via Fashion Blogger Stands Up to Forever 21, Will Not Take Down Mocking Site – TIME NewsFeed.
Parody and commentary are highly protected forms of free speech, one reason the satirists at “That Guy With the Glasses” are allowed to post parodies and reviews using substantial amounts of footage (in addition to the transformative nature of the reviews).
I see this story as a big, bad company taking on a small, vocal critic, looking to eliminate any small factor that could keep teenage girls from buying silly products like this:
From WTForever21
I support Kane’s decision to continue the blog. You can find her site here.
Writin' Words 