Via Public Citizen, which challenged the NSA in court, it appears the agency has (wisely) withdrawn its trademark-like claims against Zazzle for the sale of parody merchandise mocking the agency. Here’s the key admission by the NSA, from Attachment 1 to the settlement agreement:
Section 3613 does not prohibit the creation or sale of items intended to parody NSA where no … impression of approval, endorsement or authorization is conveyed, nor does it require the prior approval of the Director of the National Security Agency for the creation or sale of such items.
NSA acknowledges that [the challenged] designs were intended as parody and should not have been viewed as conveying the impression that the designs were approved, endorsed, or authorized by NSA. NSA encourages Zazzle to reexamine the content of its users, including the content identified in [NSA’s March, 2011 C&D Letter], in light of this clarification.
H/T Jim Tyre.
