Bo Muller-Moore is one Defiant Dude. Bo’s ‘Eat More Kale’ t-shirt business came under fire recently when Chick-fil-A (a chain of sandwich outlets) issued a cease and desist order against the campaign, saying the slogan was too close to its own ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ epithet.
Bo is not the only victim of corporate bullying by bad spellers; Chick-Fil-A has issued similar orders against 30 other campaigns it claims are too close to its own. Chick-Fil-A has copyright over its phrase, and claims Bo’s hand silkscreened T’s are impinging on those rights.
In a letter, Chick-fil-A claimed that Bo’s slogan “is likely to cause confusion of the public and dilutes the distinctiveness of Chick-fil-A’s intellectual property and diminishes its value.” A statement which sadly underestimates the intellect of the general public and overstates the cache of its own ‘intellectual’ property.
Although it’s unlikely that the public will ever confuse kale with chicken, Chick-fil-A is proceeding with legal action. Bo, who describes himself as a folk artist and earns a living caring for an adult with special needs, started making the T-shirts in 2000 to promote the consumption of kale; a leafy green vegetable with high nutritional value. Bo says he refuses to adhere to the cease and desist order and will continue to make his silkscreened T’s.
To bolster his fight against corporate bullying, he has teamed up with documentary film maker James Lantz to film a documentary called “Defiant Dude”. To raise the $75 000 needed for the film, the couple have posted their proposal on Kickstarter . To date, over $89 000 has been collected to help Bo stand up to corporate bullying. Click here to see a trailer of the documentary or here to order an Eat more kale T-shirt or hoodie or donate to Bo’s worthy cause. You can also sign a petition on his home page to support the rights of small business owners.
We wish Bo all the best on his ‘Eat more Kale’ campaign and hope he triumphs over corporate bullying. Good luck Bo, from kale eaters and good spellers everywhere.
Update: March 27th a preliminary hearing found in favor of Chick-Fil-A. Bo has 6 months to appeal.
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