the Postal Service vs. the Postal Service

[octothorp]

Back a while ago, an electro-indie rock outfit dubbed themselves the Postal Service, and last year they got a cease and desist letter from the US Postal Service. The two groups went at each other with lawyers, and today announced a bizarre settlement: both groups will keep their names. The Postal Service (the band) will play at a Postal Service (the mail guys) conferences. The Postal Service (the mail guys) may use music by The Postal Service (the band) in their advertising. The Postal Service (the band) may sell their music at the Postal Service's (the mail guys) outlets. In a world that seems to love lawsuits, this strikes me as a strange and wonderful alliance.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/04-11/04.shtml

[Daradon]

Yes a very creative settlement indeed.

However I think there shouldn't have been a lawsuit to begin with. It's not like they are in competing markets. Bands are named after other things all the time, how is this one so different or special?

[Maritime Q-Scout]

they weren't named after the institution Postal Service (mail guys) but because it's two memebers one who does the music in England and one who sings the lyrics (possibly writes I don't recall) in the US. Rather than use computers etc they would send their stuff back and forth through....


... wait for it ...

the Postal Service!

so maybe indirectly named after the institution more of AN intitution. I don't know how accurate that actually is, I was told by a friend like a year ago how it worked. Correct away if I'm mistaken.




from here
you can't see me stare
the stale taste
of recycled air