New York Times Sues Over Breathless T-Shirts

Well this was really, really unexpected.

According to a report from Styleite, the New York Times has threatened to sue the company behind the recently released t-shirts inspired by the legendary Jean Luc-Godard film, Breathless, which have apparently ‘stolen’ the trademarked logo of the New York Herald Tribune. The news broke through the New York Post, with the company giving a brief statement:

‘We hereby demand that you immediately stop manufacturing and selling articles of clothing bearing the logo.’

That’s just a snippet that lawyer Deborah Beshaw wrote in a letter to the company, DUMBO, the screen printers who put the ink to cloth for the new Rodarte shirts. Apparently the Times is now in the business of being picky about who can or can’t use their logos, or for that matter, don’t seem to like this use one bit.

Personally, while this is pretty much a non-story, this is a really interesting little piece of information. The Times haven’t seemed to go against companies like Barney’s or even the lesser used, more hipstery Urban Outfitters, who are currently selling a similar shirt, using the company’s current logo. I really don’t like this story at all, as they are really, really cool shirts, and this comes as a major shock, but they do have their rights. While I don’t like the method, the madness behind it is somewhat justified. Just wish I wouldn’t have been for this damn film.

Source: Styleite / New York Post