ANNALS OF TRADEMARK LAW: THE DAVE ANVER AFFAIR
We've written before about trademarks and bootleg merch sold on "Shakedown Streets" at shows. The phishnet forum and Phantasy Tour message boards have been buzzing since the Dick's shows about the strange affair of a freelance contractor, Dave Anver, long active in seizing supposedly bootleg merch for promoters in the Denver area.
The Westword blog site in Denver covered the original incident which was sparked by a YouTube video and a "Stop Dave Anver" Facebook page campaign and writer Dave Herrera has returned with a long and troubling discussion of what happened that day in the lot at Dick's with a "bootleg merch bust" that somehow went very, very bad.
Herrera's article, "Phish Story: A fight on Shakedown Street left one man in stitches and another fearing for his family" is here.
The article has extensive background on illegal merch which is a must read, particularly because of its in depth look at the evolution of the Phish lot scene and extensive interviews with Kevin Shapiro and Amy Skelton./#
Here's one thing Amy said that didn't seem to percolate through to Anver, based not only on this incident but many in Denver for decades:
"She had very specific rules for how such actions were to be handled, though. Before engaging in any type of search-and-seizure type activity, Skelton made sure those helping her with enforcement knew which merch was permissible and which wasn't. "When they got to the show, they would meet me in the merch room," she remembers. "And I always had a bag of samples. So we'd stand in the merch room with my bag of samples, which I'd throw out on the table, like, 'That is our logo. This is our name. Also, this word Gamehendge is copyrighted. You can take that, too.' We'd go through why all of the other things weren't. So I spent probably fifteen minutes before I sent the guys out there. And then I was on radio the whole time, monitoring them."
It's clear that while the legal rules and Phish's interpretation of copyright infringement were reasonable at the top, Herrera seems to question whether fine distinctions between infringing and OK (things like song title shirts, no logos etc.) actually got translated into the field when it came to "bouncer"-type private enforcers like Anver.
Disclosure: We've unfortunately had some bad experience with Dave at Phishnet/Mockingbird. Anyone remember those refrigerator magnets promoting our first edition of The Phish Companion that we handed out for free during the summer 2000 tour (photo below to jog your memory or fill in for newer fans)? Our publisher, then Miller Freeman books paid for them as part of their advertising and publicity budget we had contracted for. There was nothing infringing about the magnets, bandmembers and management had cooperated with us in fact checking the book in various parts. But Dave often seemed not to draw fine distinctions and seized magnets from one of our volunteers at the Desert Sky show in 2000.
Photo credits: top, courtesy Mark Manger, from the YouTube video of the incident; bottom, phishnet staff
#/ Update: The author informed us that he did not interview Kevin Shapiro; Kevin's quotes are taken from previous court papers seeking injunctions against bootleg merchandise sales.
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Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation
@lemuria someone needs to do it!
Dave Anver definitely has a history, and while making his face public and shaming him on facebook etc may be warranted, threats of violence against him and his family are completely uncalled for, and an embarrassment to the Phish community.
I've been following this story a bit since I got back home from CO. Didn't hear anything about when there, but supposedly this guy has been a problem on lot in the Denver area for some time, be it Phish, Further, Pearl Jam, etc.
What I am curious about is whether this guy is hired directly by the bands entities, or if he is part of a base personnel through a local (Denver area) firm that is hired by the band? I do think it makes a difference. This kind of stuff has no place on a Phish lot, or any lot for that matter. I hope everyone has learned something by it, including those selling trademarked goods.
Suggestions ranging from smashing Anver in the face with a bottle to dousing him with a vial of "L" have been put forward in the blogosphere. Bottles are best recycled, and "L", the last time I checked, has better uses than being poured on douchbag merch police.
Also, not to rant, but it is just not okay to call people "fucking fags" because you don't like them. Some in the Phish community haven't learned that yet. "Fag" went out of style in the 90's. In this case, it is double offensive because no homosexual in the world would want to be associated with Dave Anver.
We had the moral high ground on this one, but some people gotta go and spout off a bunch of nonsense.
In conclusion, Dave Anver can go suck a lemon.
This happened too - http://www.mixcloud.com/robertchampion/the-philler-episode-six-the-phlood/
The Phlood - Revisions w/ Mr. Miner
"Fans" aren't responsible for what any other fan thinks, and Dave and his actions have made themselves legitimate subjects for some investigation, which has happened in the parent blog articles.
As part of the organized fan base, as we have been since 1990, we are trying to bring this issue to the community for peaceful discussion of how to prevent things like this from harshing the great vibe at the Phish shows we love. Blogger Dave Herrera and I seem to agree that there was a breakdown in communications and management between Phish, Inc. and some of their longtime "independent contractors" like Dave Anvers.
I agree with this analysis and hope it is addressed, although I believe Amy Skelton is happily employed these days in sustainable agriculture rather than policing the lot for bogus merch. But clearly, IMO, Phish or its management or someone capable like Jihn Langenstein, Phish's longtime security guy, needs to get on top of this to avoid any repeats of blood over t shirts.
Phish.net mgmt or phishnetters aren't calling from Dave's head (though he should retire from the biz). We are calling for reform or "back to the future" with someone reasonable like Amy Skelton running the show and providing hands on management to private security contractors policing merch in the name of the band and its members.
(BTW, we tried to play a similar constructive role as you'll recall, when those Bethel campground owners used our forum to sell and then try to tell shut out customers to complain to the Town because they lacked a permit).
Anver is obviously a taco short of a combo plate. He's got anger issues, and bad things happen in his presence and in his wake. He seems to envision himself as the misunderstood hero of the movie of his life, and it is obviously only a matter of time before he does again what he's been doing all along - visiting pain on people he decides he doesn't like.
There are event security companies in nearly every market Phish plays (if not every market) who staff security professionals, train them to diffuse conflict, and fire them when they color outside the lines. Why the band is hiring this shitball lone actor to police their lots is beyond me, but the most likely answer is that they're too cheap to hire pros or they're too lazy to shop alternatives to Captain Karatepants.
Nice acronyms (no sarcasm meant here.) I am going to use the YMMV one.
Just wanted to throw out there that I was not talking about everyone in the Phish community, obviously. It does, however, distress me when people defend the community with hateful and violent speech. That's all.