David Gilmour has sued an unofficial Pink Floyd merchandise site called OtherBrick which, he says, is not only infringing the band’s trademark, but the trademark in his own name. Which, unlike the Pink Floyd brand and mark, he directly controls.
He’s gone legal in the US, although the website - despite claiming to be based in Ohio - seems to actually operate out of a base in Asia. As a result, Gilmour’s lawsuit, similar to one filed last year by the company that controls the Pink Floyd brand, also seeks to grab the domain being used by the OtherBrick company.
OtherBrick, claims Gilmour’s lawsuit, is “using a fake online storefront” designed to look like it is selling “genuine” products that feature David Gilmour’s name and brand, which the musician has registered as a trademark in the US. He is filing his lawsuit, he says, to “combat defendant’s counterfeiting” of his trademark, and “to protect unknowing consumers from purchasing unauthorised David Gilmour products over the internet”.
Half way down its home page, OtherBrick states that it sells “Pink Floyd-inspired items, from posters to apparel, reflecting their musical and cultural significance”, which doesn’t go as far as claiming to be official, but the general design of the site looks pretty legit.
At the bottom of the page it says that OtherBrick is based at 351 Lincoln Ave, Youngstown, OH 44502, USA. However, says Gilmour's lawsuit, “a Google search of this address leads to no known businesses”, but - rather - a building belonging to University Edge Youngstown described as a “student housing complex offering furnished apartments, as well as events”.
The lawsuit adds that attorneys working for Gilmour have “previously identified this address as affiliated with other scam and counterfeit websites”.
The fact the site seems to be providing a fake address in a bid to pretend it is a US-based company obviously backs up Gilmour’s claim that OtherBrick is a dodgy operation.
The fact the site seems to actually be based in Asia shouldn’t stop Gilmour from suing through the US courts, given OtherBrick is very much marketing its products to American fans. However, it might make it more difficult to enforce any injunction or claim any damages, should the court rule against the merch company.
Which is why - in addition to seeking an injunction stopping OtherBrick from selling David Gilmour branded products and lots of damages - Gilmour’s lawsuit also wants the court to order for the OtherBrick domain to be transferred to the musician’s company.
When Pink Floyd (1987) Ltd went after an unofficial merch seller last year it managed to get a court order in relation to that seller’s domain, which now points to the official Pink Floyd website.
Of course, while Gilmour may be able to take over the OtherBrick domain, the site could continue operating on other similar domains. Intellectual property infringing websites often switch domains when they run into legal problems, assuming that most people are finding their sites via search engines or social media anyway.
To that end, Gilmour’s lawsuit also asks the court to order “online marketplaces, social media platforms, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and internet search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo” to stop providing services to OtherBrick, including selling advertising, as well as taking “all steps necessary to prevent links to the defendant domain name identified as otherbrick.com from displaying in search results”.
We will see how wide an order the court is willing to issue in relation to other internet companies who may inadvertently be helping the OtherBrick site.