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Forever 21 Rips Off Minor Threat, Of All Things

Image via <a href="http://pitchfork.com/news/34804-forever-21-sold-bootleg-minor-threat-shirts/">Pitchfork</a>
Image via Pitchfork

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Forever 21 recently got in trouble for reproducing the logo of seminal straight-edge punk band Minor Threat on a t-shirt. And when we say "the logo," we don't mean some complicated symbol that's only familiar to hardcore kids who grew up in the 80s. No, we mean the cover of the band's first LP, which happens to consist mostly of the words "Minor Threat," over which Forever 21, for reasons that will probably always remain murky, felt compelled to print a neon lady wearing aviator sunglasses.

Minor Threat's record label, Dischord, is famously anti-consumerism—for years, they wouldn't even sell their own t-shirts, let alone license the logo to major corporations—and the band has previously sued Fox and Nike for copyright infringement. When they put up a fuss, Forever 21 pulled the shirts. (But seriously, what else were they going to do? Claim they didn't realize the words "Minor Threat" appeared, in that order, in the design?)
· Forever 21 Swipes Logo from Band Minor Threat [MediaBistro]
· Dischord Responds To Bootleg Forever 21 Minor Threat T-Shirt [The Tripwire]
· Forever 21 Sold Bootleg Minor Threat Shirts [Pitchfork]

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