Bitcoin Magazine claims Fed accused it of trademark violation for t-shirts
The United States Federal Reserve has sent a cease-and-desist letter to crypto media publication Bitcoin Magazine, accusing it of trademark violations, according to a Nov. 3 post from the publication. Bitcoin Magazine claims it is being targeted because of its use of the word “FedNow” on “t-shirts, hats, and other wearables.” FedNow is the trademarked name of the Federal Reserve’s instant payment system.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is threatening to sue Bitcoin Magazine, alleging apparel that parodies its FedNow system is not protected speech, but copyright infringement.@markgoodw_in with Bitcoin Magazine’s response:https://t.co/PYmeZHBYWO
Bitcoin Magazine carries some merchandise in its store that features the word “FedNow” printed on it, but with the “O” in the word having been replaced with an image of an eye.
According to the post, the Fed claimed these items “mislead readers into believing a connection exists between the publication and the central bank.”
In response, Bitcoin Magazine’s legal team sent a letter to the Federal Reserve denying the allegation. The merchandise is “undeniably parodic in nature,” the letter stated, as it was created “for the purpose of parody and political criticism directed at the Federal Reserve.”
As evidence for this, the letter pointed to the image of an eye found in the designs, which it referred to as a “surveillance eye.” In a separate open letter referenced in the post, Bitcoin Magazine referred to the eye as an “all-seeing eye that symbolizes the state of total financial surveillance that [the Federal Reserve] is seeking to impose on the American financial system.”
The term “all-seeing eye” or "Eye of Providence" refers to a symbol found in Jacopo Pontormo’s 1525 painting, Supper at
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