Thread by @tiffanycli

The Pence family wrote a kids book about their pet rabbit, Marlon Bundo. In response, John Oliver & @lastweektonight released a book in which #MarlonBundo is gay (w/proceeds going to charities). #betterbundobook

Some quick legal analysis:

The Pence family probably could’ve prevented this if they had just trademarked “Marlon Bundo.” Owning the trademark would allow the Pences to stop others from using the name in many cases, possibly including John Oliver’s book.

It looks like the Pence family did not register the name “Marlon Bundo” as a trademark. There are other ways the Pences might be able to claim they own the trademark rights, esp. if they can prove they were the first to use the name commercially.

If the Pence family argues that John Oliver & Last Week Tonight committed trademark infringement, the best defense would probably be that this book was a parody. However, the book titles do look confusingly similar, which would suppport the Pences’ claim.

It doesn’t look like the book has any mention of Pence himself. No right of publicity, false light, or defamation claims then. (Plus, Pence is a public figure, so public figure exceptions apply.)

Finally, and most importantly, Marlon Bundo himself has no legal claim for anything, because he is a rabbit.