Rock band rages at Nigel Farage podcast
US rock band Rage Against The Machine (RATM) have accused UK politician Nigel Farage of “brazenly and unlawfully” exploiting their name and logo, in a letter sent earlier this week.
Howard King, partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, sent the cease-and-desist letter on behalf of the American rock band on Tuesday, July 10.
Farage led the UK Independence Party (UKIP) for a total of nine years, during two separate periods, and was a prominent supporter of the Brexit campaign.
He currently hosts a podcast called “Farage Against The Machine” on the Leading Britain’s Conversation radio station. According to King’s letter, this podcast “exploits” RATM’s name and logo.
“As you should know, RATM has publicly denounced the type of right-wing ideology you espouse”, the letter said, so the “attempt to associate yourself with RATM is wholly inappropriate”.
In addition to their music, RATM are well known for being vocal about their left-wing political activism and campaigning against corporate America, among other things.
Angela Jack, senior associate at EIP, explained that Farage is diluting RATM’s brand, “which stands in staunch opposition to much of the ideology that Farage promotes”.
Last year, music news outlet NME reported that RATM’s bassist, Tim Commerford, referred to Brexit as “very racist”.
Farage’s podcast “falsely associates” the politician and his “far right political views” with RATM, King said, the implication of which is “particularly abhorrent” to the band.
King’s letter noted that trademark law in the US, where the band resides, entitles IP rights owners to compensatory damages, disgorgement of profits, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees in the event of a violation.
He said: “Stop using RATM’s name and logo, change the name of your podcast, and find some other target to troll. We suggest President Trump.”
Currently RATM do not have any registered trademarks covering the UK, where the alleged infringing activities are taking place. As noted by Jack, RATM registered the band’s name as a trademark in the 1990s, but all four registrations are now listed as ‘dead’.
The marks, which were registered in classes 9, 16, 25 and 41 for recording apparatus, printed material, clothing, and entertainment services, were due to be renewed in 2011.
However, Jack said “this does not close the doors on RATM taking legal action” as they can still take action to protect their reputation and identity against misrepresentation.
Jim Dennis, partner at Simkins, explained that RATM would need to rely on the law of passing off.
“They would need to persuade the court that Farage is deceiving members of the public into believing there is an association between his podcast and RATM, or that RATM endorsed Farage’s use of their name”, Dennis explained, saying this seems “unlikely”.
Sehaj Lamba, solicitor at Mackrell Turner Garrett, added that passing off claims are “generally difficult to prove because the benchmark for establishing a cause of action in passing off is typically higher than an evidential point of view”.
For example, RATM would need to prove that “at least some of the general public are at risk of confusion and that there is a clear connection between RATM’s goods/services and Farage’s podcasts”.
Vicky Butterworth, of counsel at Marks & Clerk, said “given RATM’s leftist and rebellious political views, whether anyone would actually think that Farage and his podcast are in some way linked with RATM remains to be seen”.
“If Farage refuses to change the name of his podcast, RATM would need to decide whether to escalate the dispute or whether, having made their views on Farage and his podcast abundantly clear, they would be better placed leaving the matter at that and challenging ‘the machine’ elsewhere,” Butterworth explained.
Dennis agreed that RATM may find it “sufficient” to distance the band from Farage publicly without the need to engage in court proceedings.
As Farage has yet to respond publicly to the letter, Jack said it remains to be seen whether the former politician will comply and change the name of his podcast.
Whatever happens, “it will be interesting to see how this matter progresses”, Lamba said.
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