Fresh off a decisive victory against a man who used Pepe the Frog in an Islamophobic children's book (previously), artist Matt Furie is fighting alt-right stars for unauthorized use of his Pepe the frog character.
The initial round of nastygrams went out to Richard Spencer, Baked Alaska, Mike Cernovich, and Reddit's The_Donald forum. Via VICE:
Furie's legal team makes clear that Furie plans to ask Spencer, Cernovich, and Baked Alaska for money in addition to demanding they stop using Pepe's image: "After we have received confirmation that you have ceased infringement, we will contact you to discuss what additional information we need from you to calculate the appropriate amount of damages," the letters read.
Many, though not all, of the URLs referenced in the letters are now dead. Mike Cernovich and Baked Alaska in particular seem to have quickly complied. Cernovich, Spencer, and Alaska did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Some of these cases also seem to be clear-cut infringement, but trying to police such a ubiquitous meme will eventually wander into the murky borders of fair use. While these tactics will likely end Pepe's misuse by prominent commercial sites, internet trolls typically double down when someone uses legal threats to stop the spread of something online.
• Here Are the Letters That Pepe the Frog's Lawyers Sent to the Alt Right (VICE via)
