When local governments cannot defeat citizen watchdogs with facts, they often resort to legal intimidation. One of the most creative, yet ultimately flawed, tactics used by municipal governments across the country is the weaponization of intellectual property law to silence critics.
In Union County, this took the form of a battle over the official county seal.
The Union County Citizen’s Forum
For years, the Union County Citizen’s Forum served as a platform for residents to dissect budgets, expose patronage, and hold the Board of County Commissioners accountable. To visually represent the focus of their civic oversight, watchdogs frequently utilized the official Union County seal in their broadcasts, publications, and digital graphics.
Rather than addressing the substance of the political critiques, the county apparatus attempted to use trademark law as a shield. The argument posited by the government was that the municipal seal was protected intellectual property, and that citizen watchdogs were committing trademark infringement by displaying it without official authorization.
Trademark Law as a Gag Order
This legal maneuver is a well-documented intimidation tactic. Municipalities send heavily lawyered cease-and-desist letters, hoping the threat of a costly federal intellectual property lawsuit will force independent bloggers and public access television hosts to shut down their operations.
However, as legal scholars and law firms monitoring these disputes have repeatedly noted, using municipal seals for political commentary, parody, or news reporting falls squarely under First Amendment protections and the doctrine of “fair use.” A government entity cannot trademark its logo specifically to prevent taxpayers from criticizing the government that logo represents.
The Necessity of Legal Pushback
The attempt to restrict the use of the county seal was never actually about brand confusion; it was about establishing a chilling effect on free speech.
Standing up to these frivolous legal threats is a mandatory part of citizen journalism. When the county realizes they cannot silence watchdogs with cease-and-desist letters, they retreat back behind closed doors. To see how we continue to fight the county’s attempts to hide public information today, read our latest transparency report: Behind Closed Doors: Grading Union County’s OPRA Compliance.