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Miel Gibson: Chilean honey vendor in sticky situation with Braveheart star


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Miel Gibson: Chilean honey vendor in sticky situation with Braveheart star

By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda

 

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Image: Reuters file photo

 

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A pun on the Spanish word for "honey" and the name of one of the world's most famous actors has landed a small scale Chilean vendor in a sticky situation.

 

Yohanna Agurto used an image of Mel Gibson from the 1995 movie "Braveheart" to promote her honey, Miel Gibson, along with the slogan "only for the brave."

 

This week she received a letter from the actor's lawyers saying her use of his name and likeness violated Gibson's rights, and threatening legal action if she did not withdraw the product immediately.

 

The letter was signed by an assistant to Leigh Brecheen, a California-based lawyer.

 

Breechen told Reuters the letter was aimed at preventing the use of Gibson's image, not banning the honey's name.

 

"You need to get permission to use or duplicate a photo still from a film, which is owned by the respective studio that released the film," she said. "None of this is meant to prevent anyone from earning an income or creating a business, but there are proper channels to contact and clearances you need to go through to make sure you have the approval for such usage."

 

Agurto told Reuters from her home in the capital Santiago she was so frightened on receiving the letter on Wednesday that she deleted her work email account.

 

She had only started repacking and selling the southern Chilean product in June after the spread of the coronavirus caused widespread unemployment, she said, adding she only earned enough to support her family.

 

"This arose out of necessity. I was left without work due to the pandemic," Agurto said.

 

After she shared the letter with Chilean media, she said, her following on social media grew "exponentially."

 

On Thursday, she addressed an appeal directly to the actor on Twitter: "Dear #MelGibson, would you let us use your image on our honey please? Mis kids and me we would be infinitely grateful. Our honey is only for brave hearts."

 

Gibson's spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

(Reporting by Natalia Ramos, writing by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-16
 
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Seems like a reasonable request. She can still call it Miel Gibson along with the slogan "only for the brave"

 

I recall a popular Houston bar called the Velvet Elvis that was named after the kitch, gaudy luminous image of Elvis painted on black velvet that hung on a wall. Elvis's estate and lawyers were very nasty when it came to their perception of rights and copyright violations. It took the owner a couple of years but he won the rights to retain the name and the hang the picture.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/1997/01/06/story6.html

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32 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

If I was him, I’d give her the permission, after all it’s just a women and a few family members in a dire situation and not a huge company! 

Probably just the legal team making money by charging him for the hour ... Protecting copyright ...  He may not even know about it ... 

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There was a burger shop owner named Mac, who had for years promoted a burger called Big Mac. McDonalds moved down the road and immediately accused him of appropriating the name of one of their horrific burgers. He fought them and won. If you ever go to the Gold Coast in Australia you will find the shop still proudly selling the Big Mac at Bilinga.

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