The U.S. Federal Reserve is taking legal action versus Bitcoin Magazine in an effort to silence criticism of its just recently released FedNow interbank cleaning and settlement service.
In a letter sent out to the publication by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the reserve bank of the United States is declaring that Bitcoin Magazine product that parodies its services are not safeguarded speech, however rather an unapproved violation of its image and hallmarks.
The conflict focuses around using the FedNow Service image and hallmark in a line of product offered by Bitcoin Magazine that looks for to slam the security abilities of the FedNow system, and how it threatens American civil liberties.
The Federal Reserve declares that Bitcoin Magazine utilized the hallmark without approval to mislead readers into thinking a connection exists in between the publication and the reserve bank.
In action to the accusations, Bitcoin Magazine has actually penned an open letter to the Federal Reserve Financial Services’s Deputy General Counsel, Thaddeus Murphy:
Dear Thaddeus Murphy,
On behalf of the whole group at Bitcoin Magazine, I desired to make the effort to thank you for your thoughtful questions after having actually searched our online shop. Doing your Christmas shopping early, you enjoy to see it! Let us understand if we can send out a box of product to any of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. You may enjoy our material from the current print Bitcoin Magazine, which talks about the damages your policies have actually done to our economy – and our nation.
Please don’t be reluctant to connect with a list of desired products, and we will make certain to send them. We desire to do our part to “stimulate” the economy!
On to service. We would like to notify you that while we got your cease-and-desist demand, we decline to comply. We will not be frightened by your efforts to silence criticism.
As you might understand, our publication and our readership are deeply bothered by the brand-new FedNow interbanking interaction system. We think not just that it is potentially unconstitutional, however that it threatens the extremely liberties that all liberty-loving American residents need to love.
With that in mind, our company believe it is well within our First Amendment rights to workout speech on the concern, and to that end, we will be protecting our right to offer product that makes purchasers mindful, through reasonable usage images, our position that this system is a danger to civil liberties.
I would like to make a couple of direct comments on quotes present in your letter, in order to finest articulate what I make sure is to be thought about a frustrating action:
“The Federal Reserve has extensively used and promoted the FEDNOW mark and has built up substantial goodwill in this invaluable asset. Financial institutions and consumers associate the FEDNOW mark with the Federal Reserve and its services.”
An intriguing point. For beginners, what goodwill has the Federal Reserve developed? Have you seen the state of the working class today? Perhaps you have currently forgotten how Fed policy straight led to mishandled bond portfolios in local banks throughout the nation, such as Silicon Valley Bank, Signature, Silvergate or First Republic? Perhaps you have currently forgotten the historical inflation rates seen throughout the U.S. considering that government-imposed lockdowns all however required the Treasury’s hand to promote the economy to the tune of trillions of dollars?
There is no goodwill, Mr. Murphy. And definitely not considerable goodwill either.
“The Federal Reserve recently learned that Bitcoin Magazine is selling t-shirts, hats, and other wearables bearing the FEDNOW name, as shown in the screenshot below. Bitcoin Magazine’s use of the FEDNOW mark in this manner is likely to cause confusion, mistakes or deception. Consumers are likely to believe that the gear is associated with, affiliated with, or endorsed by the Federal Reserve, when no such association or relationship exists.”
This is incorrect. Bitcoin Magazine is exercising its First Amendment rights to social commentary and parody. I’m sure you’ll observe the all-seeing eye that signifies the state of overall monetary security that your company is looking for to trouble the American monetary system.
We do not think that anybody that recognizes with our editorial standards and basic position on the world would ever associate Bitcoin Magazine with the Federal Reserve. We concur with your assertion that “no such association or relationship exists.”
We have no interest in triggering confusion, errors, or deceptiveness. That sounds more like a task for those accountable for informing the marketplace they wouldn’t raise rates after an enormous financial growth, and after that went on to raise them faster than at any time in U.S. monetary history.
We look forward to protecting our First Amendment rights, and the chance to explain to all Americans the distinction in between the open, complimentary, and decentralized monetary system that is Bitcoin, and the centralized FedNow system that threatens our country’s starting worths.
Best,
Mark Goodwin
Editor In Chief
Bitcoin Magazine
PDF variations of the Federal Reserve’s stop and desist Letter and our legal action:
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