THE OBAMANATION BEGINS

28 January 09 Categories: Laugh it Off

Jan 22 2009: Inauguration of The Obamanator

On his first day in charge of The Obamanation, The Obamanator orders all secret U.S. prisons to be closed immediately, and for Guantanamo
Bay to be closed within a year; he stops the torture of American prisoners; grants access to all U.S. detainees to the International Red Cross; ends the practice by which detainees could be sent to countries where they might be tortured; freezes the salaries of all White House officials making more than $100,000; orders all government agencies to “adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure” regarding Freedom of Information Act requests; orders all administration appointees to take an ethics pledge; ends a government ban on funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad; and revokes Executive Order 13233, which placed limits on public access to the records of former presidents. All in a day’s work for The Obamanator.

Postcards with an edge

27 January 09 Categories: Laugh it Off

LiO’s appeal at Bloemies Supreme Court

12 January 09 Categories: Laugh it Off

Back in the day when LiO was at the Supreme Court. Unlike the NPA, we lost our appeal.

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BATTLE OF BLOEMFONTEIN : BLACK LABOUR APPEAL

MONDAY 30 AUGUST, BLOEMFONTEIN – LAUGH IT OFF PROMOTIONS appeared in the Supreme Court of Appeal today to challenge a Cape High Court judgement that their controversial “Black Labour; White Guilt” t-shirt bordered on hate speech and exploited SAB’s “Carling Black Labour” trademark.

Laugh it Off used their constitutional right to free speech as a legal defense in response to an application of trademark infringement brought by SAB.

Five Appeal Court Judges heard ‘Heads of Argument’ from Laugh it Off’s Senior Advocate Peter Hodes, SAB’s Philip Ginsberg, as well as Gilbert Marcus appearing on behalf of the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), who were there as amicus curiae (friends of the court).

Arguments were largely confined to the realm of trademark law, with much of the focus on American case-law. These cases highlighted legal precedents involving the rights of artists and that of the brand. The link between the Black Label brand and labour exploitation was questioned by SAB, and the validity of Laugh it Off’s social commentary was championed by Gilbert Marcus.

Laugh it Off’s legal team was confident that headway in what is a very complex case was made, and that the door to take the matter further is still very much open should the court reach an unfavourable judgement. Laugh it Off feels that regardless of the Appeal Court decision, this is a matter that urgently needs to be heard by the Constitutional Court, as debating one’s right to freedom of speech within the confines of trademark law has its obvious limitations.

Judgement was reserved.

(This is the third time the two parties have appeared in court. In December 2003, a ‘security for costs’ application brought by SAB was dismissed by Judge Roger Cleaver with costs awarded for two council. SAB were demanding security for legal costs they estimated to be in excess of R350 000. In December 2003 judgement Cleaver ruled that, “the issues between the parties are important and novel ones which in my view are deserving of a definitive judgement by the Supreme Court of Appeal?. Closing the door to (Laugh it Off), which is a likely result of the granting of the relief sought by (SAB), would deny (Laugh it Off) an opportunity to have its dispute with (SAB) determined by a court of law simply by virtue of its financial position.” This small, but significant victory for the t-shirt satirists confirmed Laugh it Off’s ticket to Bloemfontein’s Supreme Court of Appeal, adding another twist to one of the country’s most vehemently debated court cases.)

I’m with Stupid

7 January 09 Categories: Laugh it Off

For when one arrow just isn’t enough…