Market Basket not a fan of North Shore author’s profane use of their brand

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The large New England grocery retailer chain Market Basket hasn’t taken too kindly to the writer of a “comically perverted” artwork e book on Massachusetts’ North Shore — it’s issued a stop and desist order for her use of its brand because the template for her decidedly profane personal brand.

“The copying, distribution and public display of these designs without permission or license from Market Basket constitutes a clear violation of Market Basket’s intellectual property rights,” legal professional Robert F. Callahan Jr. of the Boston regulation agency Robins Kaplan LLP wrote on behalf of Demoulas Tremendous Markets, Market Basket’s father or mother firm. “Further, these designs threaten the valuable goodwill associated with the Market Basket brand and its marks.”

Callahan mentioned that Tewksbury-based Market Basket “is not a litigious company and has no desire to engage in protracted legal proceedings regarding this matter” however that it’s “committed to protecting its intellectual property rights.”

The Herald obtained the stop and desist letter from recipient Madison Murray, a 28-year-old author, artist and OnlyFans creator in Massachusetts.

Lawyer Callahan didn’t return the Herald’s emailed request for remark despatched Thursday.

“I think my first reaction was shock. I opened it up right when I first woke up,” Murray instructed the Herald in a cellphone interview. “I guess I was validated, that’s a good way to put it. Obviously it was unfortunate, but it was also good to feel like I was on the radar of Market Basket.”

The problem of concern is Murray’s use of Market Basket’s fundamental brand design because the template for her personal brand selling her e book, titled partially “A deep and raw look into the North Shore of Massachusetts” which comes full with a “Parental Advisory: Explicit Content” brand on its cowl.

She used a parody of the Market Basket: “More For Your Dollar” brand each in social media promotion and on branded objects, with a pornographic pun prime line and the slogan: “Whore For Your Dollar” on t-shirts, sweatshirts and tote luggage.

Murray instructed the Herald that she believed her use of the design was truthful use — as she sees many different designers utilizing renditions on their very own wares — and that she has no sick will towards the grocery retailer chain discovered all through her beloved North Shore.

“It’s a complicated love story,” she instructed the Herald of her emotions concerning the area in a cellphone interview.

The “merchandise and content referred to in the cease and desist letter were created to promote my book, website, and Instagram page through what I thought to believe was transformative fair use,” she wrote to the Herald in an electronic mail. “I am a lifelong supporter and fan of Demoulas Market Basket and would never try to intentionally harm their brand. If anything, my goal in creating this design was to pay homage to the iconic brand and my New England roots.”

Over the cellphone, she instructed the Herald that upon receiving the discover, “I guess I was also a little sad, because I love Market Basket.”

“It was a mixture of emotions, ‘Wow! Market Basket knows who I am,’ and ‘Oh no, I wish Market Basket liked what I was doing,’” the Salem native, who graduated from Sarah Lawrence Faculty in 2019 with a bachelor’s in arts centered on artistic writing and filmmaking, continued.

The cease-and-desist letter was dated Thursday and gave Murray every week to verify in writing that she agrees to “cease and desist from all such creation of derivative works and from further use of Market Basket’s intellectual property.”

Murray confirmed to the Herald that she has eliminated all of the offending “merchandise and content per their request.” She mentioned that she plans to talk with a lawyer relating to truthful use earlier than she responds in writing.

As for the e book, Murray mentioned that it’s her debut assortment of self-published “photography, collage, poetry, and erotica about North Shore, Massachusetts” and is “comically perverted.” She specified that it’s primarily about what she calls “the south shore of the north shore,” outlined as Revere to Rockport. She sells the 100-page hardcover e book for $45.