The Love of Beer
Earlier this month, the quirky coffeehouse rapper put his debut, Fisher-Price: My First CD, up for sale on iTunes. About a week later, Deez says that iTunes took the album down when Mattel, which owns the Fisher-Price brand, filed a complaint, charging Deez with trademark infringement.
“I guess it’s someone’s job out there to Google ‘Fisher-Price’ and see how it’s being used,” he says.
When Deez was ordered by TuneCore, the online digital-music-distribution service he used to post the album on iTunes, to change the title and album art, he had a friend redo the cover so it says “Trademark-Infringement” in Sharpie on a piece of masking tape that covers the words “Fisher-Price”—making the album title Trademark-Infringement: My First CD. Deez’s name, done in the style of the toy company’s logo, is also covered with masking tape.
Deez was able to have the album reposted on iTunes without trouble. Still, his legal issues might not be over: He’s looking into having his name trademarked because a singer-songwriter with the same name also sells music on iTunes.
“I just don’t want somebody telling me I can’t use the name Rob Deez,” he says.
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Tin Can Ale House has big changes planned for the New Year. The Bankers Hill venue is currently going through a remodel, and coowner Kelsey Breunig says she’s installing a kitchen that’ll be managed by local food-delivery service Doods Foods. The kitchen will be open for lunch Monday through Friday and during the evenings on weekends. The venue’s bar has been reduced to make more room for concertgoers, and retractable dining tables will be installed. The kitchen’s grand opening happens on Feb. 1, Breunig says.
Email peterh@sdcitybeat.com or follow him on Twitter at @peterholslin.
