The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Is That Legal – Apple Store Flash Mob

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    Ruth Carter

    Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. In accordance with ABA policy, this blog should not be viewed as legal advice. It is simply my experiences, opinions, and stuff I looked up on the internet.

    (cc) Devon Christopher Adams

    This past weekend, Improv AZ organized a flash mob that invaded the Apple Store in Scottsdale. Our friends at Brand X Custom T-Shirts made ours shirts that resembled the Apple Store employees’. Each participant wore a royal blue shirt with a heart on it that had a leaf coming out of the top and a bite taken out of the side. Our group of about 30 participants walked into the store in small groups and proceeded to browse around for about 30 minutes, looking at and buying merchandise. We never represented ourselves as Apple employees, but if someone mistook us for an employee, we answered their question if we could or directed them to an Apple employee. If anyone asked us what we doing, we denied any implications that were acting in conjunction with each other. At the end of our invasion, we walked out calmly, took some pictures in front of the store, and left.

    Did We Trespass?
    No. The Apple Store is open to do business with the public. In legal terms, we were invitees. If we were asked to leave and we refused, then we would have been trespassing.

    But You Weren’t There To Shop . . .
    And how many times have you gone into a store just to look around with no intention of buying anything? At least one person in our group purchased something and several others looked at products that they were possibly interested in buying in the future. Additionally, we did not do anything that interfered with other shoppers’ ability to shop or employees’ ability to work.

    Did We Commit Disorderly Conduct? Unlawful Assembly?
    No. You have to behave pretty badly for those charges to stick. Peacefully walking through a business that is open to the public in matching shirts is not illegal. We weren’t rioting, fighting, disrupting business, making unreasonable noise, or refusing a lawful order to disperse.

    Our Shirt vs. Their Shirt (cc) Devon Christopher Adams

    Did We Commit Trademark Infringement?
    Apple uses the apple with the bite out of it as a symbol of the source of its goods. Our apple-heart was not indicative of the source of any goods or services. There’s no trademark infringement because we weren’t claiming anything as a trademark.

    Did We Commit Copyright Infringement?
    I wouldn’t be surprised if Improv AZ and/or Brand X get cease and desist letters based on copyright infringement because our design was inspired by Apple’s logo. However, I’d argue that we created a parody that is protected under the fair use doctrine. A parody needs to resemble the original in order for people to get it; thus our shirts had to resemble the Apple shirts to be funny. Improv AZ did not make any money of these shirts, and Brand X probably isn’t turning a big profit either. Additionally, Apple doesn’t sell its shirt to the general public, and there’s no way someone who wants an Apple shirt would buy ours thinking it was close enough to what they wanted.

    Thank you to everyone who came out to make this event a success and to Devon Christopher Adams and Sheila Dee for shooting such wonderful pictures of the event! If you want your own apple-heart shirt, they are available at Brand X Custom T-shirts.

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  • SALK Day 32 – Brand X Custom T-shirts

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    Ruth Carter

    I absolutely love today’s sponsor, Brand X Custom T-shirts in Tempe, Arizona.  They create customized shirts, hoodies, hats, bags, onesies, underwear, and more.  If you can conceptualize it, they can make it a reality.  They even have an iphone app for creating shirts.  You can also get a quote online or just bee-bop into their store on to speak with one of their awesome staff members.  Even when the shop is busy, they carefully walk each client through the design process to make sure that each person gets exactly what they want.  They have locations on Mill Ave and at Arizona State University.

    Copyright Brand X Custom T-Shirts, used with permission

    Brand X has a massive selection of apparel to choose from, and they are all high quality pieces.  If they don’t have what you want on hand, they can order it for you.  If you’re putting words on your shirt, they have a huge variety of fonts, colors, and textures for your lettering.  You can bring in your own design, or use one of theirs.  This past Christmas, I ordered matching Rabies Awareness running shirts for my sister and brother-in-law so people will think that they did a Rabies Awareness Run.

    I love that Brand X is so connected to the local community.  Brand X has made the shirts for every Podcamp and Ignite Phoenix event that I’ve ever attended.  They also make the shirts of events for charity like Twestival and have events featuring local artists in their store.  At the last Podcamp AZ, Brand X was on-site at the event making Podcamp shirts as they were ordered with their mobile set up.  It was awesome.  My Brand X shirts are among of my favorite things to wear, and being a future professional geek, it’s very important to have good t-shirts.  Brand X also made my underwear for the 2010 No Pants Light Rail Ride.  I can’t wait until I’m earning a living wage again so I can create more pieces.  I have at least two ideas that I can’t wait to turn into wearable art.

    And it’s not just me who loves Brand X.  Everyone on Yelp has nothing but good things to say about Brand X, their high quality work, their fast service, and their wonderful staff.  One of my friends goes to the South by Southwest conference every year, the most awesomest film, music, and interactive media conference in the U.S.   He has Brand X make a shirt for every day of the event.

    If you need to make a personal statement or if you need a special gift for someone else, please consider Brand X.  You won’t be disappointed.

    Sponsor A Law Kid is my endeavor to pay for my last semester of law school. Today’s sponsor is Brand X Custom T-shirts.  For more information about Sponsor A Law Kid or to see what days are still available for sponsorship, visit my Sponsor A Law Kid page.