Litigation

WI Campaign Changes Name, But Not Tune

By Peter Hardin

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a partner group of the Justice at Stake Campaign, says it no longer will use the name of the  the nonprofit group Citizens United in a campaign to overturn a Supreme Court ruling by the same name, an Associated Press article reports.

Citizens United had asked the Wisconsin watchdog group to cease borrowing its name for a campaign called ?Citizens United Against Citizens United,? saying the usage infringed on trademarks, as Gavel Grab reported earlier. In the watchdog group’s Big Money Blog, it has explained why it was making a change:

“We believe the claim of trademark infringement made by Citizens United was silly and stupid and more than a little ironic. The temptation is great to get all macho about these kinds of things and strike a belligerent pose. But we see nothing to be gained by responding to this sophomoric act with more silliness and stupidity. Surely our federal courts have more important disputes to consider.”

The revised name of the protest campaign will be “United Citizens Against Citizens United.” The Supreme Court decision was titled Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and you can learn more about it from Gavel Grab, or Justice at Stake’s press release on the decision or amicus brief to the high court.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 22, 2010 (boomark / email).