- Aug 3, 2012
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Conservative Group Withdraws Lawsuit Against Left-Wing Podcast
Young America’s Foundation had filed a suit against the podcast “Know Your Enemy,” saying the satirical use of the phrase “Young Americans for Freedom” violated its trademark.
One of my favorite podcasts, Know Your Enemy got hit with a trademark infringement suit earlier this year by the Young America Foundation who claimed that KYE's obviously-satirical use of "Young Americans for Freedom" (the name of a predecessor to the Young America Foundation) as one of its membership tiers violated its intellectual property and could potentially confuse subscribers. (The other membership tiers are named "West Coast Straussians" and "John Birchers")
The conclusions one can draw from this are that either:
1.) That YAF truly believed that their conservative members couldn't tell the difference between a right-wing youth movement now led by former governor Scott Walker and a left-wing podcast run by two socialists in Brooklyn, or
2.) That the supposed champions of free speech chose to ignore a clear case of fair use and bury their political opponents in legal bills.
As it turns out, YAF may not actually own the trademark in question, so they withdrew the complaint while retaining the option to re-file it later.
For anybody interested in the intellectual history of the right, especially in the US since the beginning of the 20th century, KYE is a great podcast that delves into a lot of details not well known (and rarely discussed) outside of academic/think tank circles.
