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Re: Mike Cernovich | Pepe the Frog Dear Mr. Tompros: This firm has the honor and privilege of serving as counsel to Michael Cernovich. We are in receipt of your letter dated September 12, 2017 ostensibly on behalf of Matt Furie in regard to claims of misappropriation of the image of Pepe the Frog. I say "ostensibly," because it is clear that this was more of a publicity stunt than a serious legal threat. We appreciate your client's seeming displeasure that Pepe has been transformed into a political icon.1 Like Mr. Furie, Mr. Cernovich takes issue with being mistakenly associated with the alt-right. In fact, the article you cite2 specifically answers the titular question in the negative. Moving forward, we expect that neither party will falsely claim the other is affiliated with the alt-right As to your claims of infringement, we disagree. We will assume, for the moment, that your client properly and timely registered copyright in the image of Pepe the Frog All defenses on this issue are reserved. We note that "Boys' Club", in which Pepe first appeared as a meme, was published in 2006,3 but we do not see a copyright registration by your client relative to that work. Neither is there one for the earlier "Playtime" work It also appears that your client placed Pepe in the public domain. 4 These two circumstances seem tied together_no copyright was registered because Pepe was intentionally placed in the public domain. Remarkably absent from your letter is any consideration of fair use. Of course, since it wasn't a serious legal threat, this doesn't surprise me all that much. Even if your client could enforce a copyright in Pepe, any claim against our client in this context would fail. Both the video and the banner image qualify as fair use; the image of Pepe is used as political commentary and satire. 1 "Seeming", of course, because he is certainly capitalizing on it. 2 http://www2.dangerandplay.com/2016/08/31/is-mike-cernovich-part-of-the-alt-right/ 3 Oddly, the version available for sale notes that it is copyright © 2016. 4 See https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/4chan-pepe-the-frog-renaissance/ 4035 South El Capitan Way, Las Vegas, Nevada 89147 mjr@randazza.com | 702.420.2001

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Cernovich & Randazza Legal Group responds (Part 1).


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Origin Entry: Pepe the Frog DMCA Takedowns

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Uploaded Sep 19, 2017 at 08:44PM EDT

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Pepe the Frog DMCA Takedowns

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Mike Cernovich’s lawyers respond to frivolous Pepe the frog lawsuit threat - Medium.

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marc randazza, mike cernovich

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