You all probably remember the battle between Nike and Dischord a few years back. Dischord Records is yet again dealing with an unauthorized use of the Minor Threat name/logo, this time with clothing retailer Forever 21. The dispute stems over a Minor Threat shirt that the company is selling without the permission of the band or label. Dischord commented on the incident:
This is an unauthorized shirt and it is still unclear whether the shirt was produced by Forever 21 or if it is a bootleg that they just happen to carry. Either way the members of Minor Threat are looking into it and Forever 21 will be asked to stop selling it.In the beginning, Minor Threat did not license anything and any shirts you saw were screened by band member Jeff Nelson. But Jeff stopped screening shirts and over the years the band members realized that the shirts were going to be made with or without their permission, so they may as well authorize a couple friendly printers in order to better control the quality, content and revenue.
The band and the label tend to deal with bootleg shirts on a case by case basis, acknowledging the vast difference between kids screening shirts for friends and professional printing studios screening shirts for profit. Obviously this absurd Forever 21 shirt falls under the ‘unacceptable’ category.
Source: The Trip Wire
