From "AN OPEN LETTER from the NY 90s LESBIAN AVENGERS to the GAP" (PDF dated June 18, 2020), which I learned about reading "The Lesbian Avengers Will Not Be Commodified/At least, not by the Gap" (NYT).
The Gap has taken the shirt off its website, but it should be noted that it didn't simply appropriate the design. It bought it from the designer, Carrie Moyer. Moyer said:
"To be honest, at first, I didn’t even think they were going to want to use it because it’s more provocative than how they’re attempting to depict gay people."
Yes, the usual idea is the rainbow. A bomb with a lit fuse is pretty inconsistent:
But it's a bomb from women, so sexism — the idea that women are gentle and sweet — pads the message.
The Lesbian Avengers have been around since 1992. "Avengers" was chosen out of love for the Diana Rigg, star of the TV show "The Avengers."
Moyer saw the little bomb icon at the bottom of a leaflet that somebody else designed for the group. Moyer then chose to put the bomb in the center of a logo with the lettering of the group's name around it. The group voted to adopt the logo. It had more to do with wanting to look like they had a sense of humor than that they were threatening violence.
Quite aside from the issue of the group wanting to control its own logo, the Gap shirt has the names of the founders of the group on the back. I suppose the Gap people thought these women would just appreciate the support and publicity!
The Gap "bypassed love-is-love platitudes to sell a memory of a community’s radical roots — for $34.95." Presumably, it's worth lots more now that it's been withdrawn. And yet the logo is out there everywhere, and anyone can get it printed on a white T-shirt for a lot less than $35. What failed was the Gap's attempt to put that branding on itself. Why the Gap would want to be associated with vengeance and bombing can only be answered by understanding sexism: It's just girls fighting.
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Owen writes:
As a former IP lawyer I find this quarrel fascinating. It would be interesting to learn how the logo gained protection and how rights were negotiated (or not). Did the Gap buy the shirts already made, or did it take a license to put the logo on shirts that it caused to be made? Did Gap’s attorneys mess up, or are these angry lesbians just crybullying —which looks like tortious interference with Gap’s business?
Regardless: your analysis is astute and funny. Thanks.
Dave Begley writes:
1. I think GAP's lawyers got it right and purchased the rights to use the logo from the owner of the logo, the designer. And the designer probably warranted and represented that she exclusively owned the logo rights.
2. The Lesbian Avengers probably had no rights to the logo - or at least limited rights - and just jumped into this in order to generate controversy or get money from GAP. Money is usually the thing.
3. Back when the Bells published the phone books, a person's name, phone number and address was all in the public domain. Same for businesses in the Yellow Pages. Vin Gupta of Omaha put that info into an early database and became very rich selling that info as lists. For example, if one wanted the name of every doctor in Omaha Gupta would sell you that info.
GAP could put the names of the Lesbian Avengers on the back of the shirt. Public domain info.
Walt Disney got very rich making movies out of fairy tales in the public domain. And he didn't have to pay actors; he drew the characters and owned them.
IP can be gold.
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