Sunn O))) is a group and a logo that most of us are familiar with by now, even if you don't know a lick of music the group has ever played. Why? Well, because Sunn Musical Equipment Company used to be an a brand that went out of business in 2002. Observe the company's logo on one of its amplifier heads. Looks familiar, right?
Right. So yesterday, MetalSucks pointed out that one of its readers (Tyler B. who owns The Doom Shine) is being handed a "Cease and Desist" letter from the company RedBubble, which is essentially a website that artists can sell prints and t-shirts on among other things, to stop printing his designs because they received word from Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley that he's infringing on the group's copyright. Here's Tyler's logos:
Now, MetalSucks makes the point that maybe Sunn O))) owns the logo rights now that the musical company is defunct, which could be very true. On the flip side, I understand where O'Malley is coming from. Sunn O))) isn't exactly a band that;'s selling out stadiums and making millions on sales alone year to year. It's a drone collective that's been around for a while and has garnered a small, dedicated fan base including myself. So to have your logo essentially reprinted with a different word isn't great. Isn't that what copyrights are for? To keep something that's yours, yours? I understand that Sunn O))) is paying homage to the amplifiers and to the band Earth with its name, but a copyright is a copyright.
Check out the letter from RedBubble below.
