Pressure group to exploit relaxation of law with parody of retailer's website and logo in campaign against sale of foie gras
Campaigning group Peta is planning to exploit a long-awaited relaxation of the UK's strict parody laws, with a spoof of Fortnum & Mason's website in a bid to shame the retailer for selling foie gras.
The group is putting together a mock-up of the retailer's website and logo, which will replace the retailer's distinctive brand with the words "Force-Fed & Murdered", in preparation for changes to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The amendments, which are due to be introduced later this year, follow a series of recommendations made by Professor Ian Hargreaves in a 2011 report aiming to overhaul restrictive and archaic UK copyright laws to allow businesses to be more competitive.
One target for relaxation are the rules concerning parody. The UK has considerably more stringent laws than countries such as the US and the changes will ensure that spoofs such as YouTube hit Newport State of Mind are no longer forced to be taken down.
Peta is aiming to take advantage of the new regime to increase the pressure it has been putting on Fortnum & Mason.
"Peta received expert advice from the legal firm Nabarro who have advised that a parody website in the same font style, arrangement and colour as that used for Fortnum & Mason is likely to be fair game for parody … when the law changes in October," said a spokesman. "Our developers are currently working on the logo".
In the US parody laws are much more lax and Peta has run a number of campaigns, including KentuckyFriedCruelty.com and BloodyBurberry.com, which would never have been allowed in the UK.
Last month singer Morrissey donated a £10,000 payout from Channel 4 for unauthorised use of a Smiths song to fund ad space that Peta used to attack Fortnum & Mason.
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Campaigning group Peta is planning to exploit a long-awaited relaxation of the UK's strict parody laws, with a spoof of Fortnum & Mason's website in a bid to shame the retailer for selling foie gras.
The group is putting together a mock-up of the retailer's website and logo, which will replace the retailer's distinctive brand with the words "Force-Fed & Murdered", in preparation for changes to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The amendments, which are due to be introduced later this year, follow a series of recommendations made by Professor Ian Hargreaves in a 2011 report aiming to overhaul restrictive and archaic UK copyright laws to allow businesses to be more competitive.
One target for relaxation are the rules concerning parody. The UK has considerably more stringent laws than countries such as the US and the changes will ensure that spoofs such as YouTube hit Newport State of Mind are no longer forced to be taken down.
Peta is aiming to take advantage of the new regime to increase the pressure it has been putting on Fortnum & Mason.
"Peta received expert advice from the legal firm Nabarro who have advised that a parody website in the same font style, arrangement and colour as that used for Fortnum & Mason is likely to be fair game for parody … when the law changes in October," said a spokesman. "Our developers are currently working on the logo".
In the US parody laws are much more lax and Peta has run a number of campaigns, including KentuckyFriedCruelty.com and BloodyBurberry.com, which would never have been allowed in the UK.
Last month singer Morrissey donated a £10,000 payout from Channel 4 for unauthorised use of a Smiths song to fund ad space that Peta used to attack Fortnum & Mason.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook Reported by guardian.co.uk 4 days ago.