After receiving two cease and desist letters from the American Legion regarding the improper use of its image, Sanders attorneys respond.
For background, an article in New Hampshire’s Valley News notes that the Sanders’ campaign misrepresented residents on its campaign flyers.
With just days before the New Hampshire primary, the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., is taking heat from Upper Valley residents who say his campaign used their images on mailers without their permission.
One of the flyers in question suggests that veteran, Tom Wiley, a Canaan, New Hampshire resident pictured in the photo, and the American Legion in general, support Sanders. Both Wiley and the American Legion deny supporting Sanders or giving permission to the campaign to use their images.
According to the article, the flyer is troublesome because 1) the American Legion is not a political organization, and 2) Wiley is running for an American Legion position and this could potentially hurt his chances.
Sanders’ attorneys and the American Legion have this to say:
Sanders’ Attorneys
“We sincerely appreciate the notification of the unintentional improper use by Sanders of the emblem of The American Legion and the helpful information pertaining to your concerns,” the Seattle-based firm Garvey Schubert Barer said in a statement representing the campaign. “Sanders takes intellectual property matters very seriously and does its best to respectfully and appropriately acknowledge and to not infringe the intellectual property rights of others.”
American Legion
“A flier urges people to support your candidacy and contains pictures of the emblem of The American Legion while referencing the Veterans of Foreign Wars. This is totally illegal and misleading,” the group said in a letter dated Jan. 22, noting that Sanders wasn’t granted authorization or permission.