Here's the story behind this.
I posted the picture on my large bitcoin facebook page.
www.facebook.com/BITCOlNTwo days after posting, I received an email from facebook saying that Western Union Holdings, Inc filed a DMCA claim against me, citing their ownership of the Western Union *trademark* (strangely, not their copyright on the ad), and that Facebook decided to remove the content.
I went ahead and filed a counter-claim, where I had to swear that I believe Facebook wrongfully granted their takedown request. Now, Western Union has 10 days to either file a federal court order, or Facebook will reinstate the image. I see it as a win/win situation. If western Union actually sues me for posting the image, it will come back to bite them 1000x over in negative PR alone. Plus, I'm not the original content creator, and the image should be legally protected as "comparative advertising".
Forget about 'comparative advertising' - you are also fully protected by 'fair use' parody. Further, your Facebook 'use' is not a
commercial use; and still further, there is no 'likely to confuse (as to source of goods)' - an essential element of trademark infringement. There could be some argument from WU that 'dilution' is causing damage as your use is disparaging to their mark. However, 'fair use' takes care of that again.
Dude - don't worry about those fuckers at WU. Their lawyers are pussies and they just want to stick it to their client with tons of fees 'to defend their brand'. Their lawyers know this goes no where. They just love more billable hours. Let WU spend the money - it's fun! The more WU spends on dumb ass stuff like this, the less profit they book at the end of the year. Therefore, you are duty bound as a Bitcoin enthusiast to cause WU to further waste their money. Take every action imaginable to keep WU's lawyers busy.
However, this trademark issue is the least of WU's worry. Bitcoin is going to take over remittance 100% in about 3 years. WU is either going to be based on bitcoin, or they are going to be eliminated.
