The latest break in the Matt Furie versus Kekistan case is an especially rich bit of inside information that comes to us by way of Gab user @poopinmybutt.
It seems that Furie hasn't been practicing what he's so fervently preaching as of late. Despite having initiated law suits and DMCA claims against an author of <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/7299-Texas-Educator-Faces-the-Furie-of-Boston-Lawyers-Over-Pepe-the-Frog-Kid-s-Book">a mock children's book featuring Pepe</a>, Alt-Right figure Richard Spencer, Mike Cernovich and Reddit's /r/The_Donald community.
If you check out <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20160510074431/https://www.etsy.com/shop/futurecolors">Matt Furie's Etsy store</a> (open until May 2017, just months before his litigious tirade began) Furie was profiting off of alterations of copyrighted and trademarked figures himself. From Star Trek ferengi to Freddy Krueger, Furie was charging hundreds for his doodles of famous characters.
<img src="https://8ch.net/file_store/bcb94805c389f24ee05f79b56f0f0f4c90ac924042a76de0140766d9a940bc48.png" style="max-height:640px;max-width:480px;">
If you try to go to Furie's page you'll be met with a closed shop. Luckily, Archive.org's WayBack Machine allows us to get a peek at snapshots of the site at earlier dates. Most of the work Furie is finding offensive would be considered "Fair Use" as satire or parody. Pepe's use in the satirical children's book or in numerous memes farmed by Kekistani's would be considered "transformative" and have a completely different audience than the original work. In the case of Furie's "Future Colors" shop infringements, the derivative works are neither parody nor satire and it would be difficult to argue they were "transformative."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Try copyrighting this Matt Furie <a href="https://t.co/O15OnzZ88V">pic.twitter.com/O15OnzZ88V</a></p>— Based Dragon (@TheRedPillDrago) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRedPillDrago/status/911088975661563906">September 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Classic case of pot versus kettle, but in a court of law it all comes down to the lawyers. As <a href="http://thegoldwater.com/news/8458-Pepe-the-Frog-DMCA-Complaint-Can-t-Stop-Kekistan">at least a handful of those hit with letters from Furie's furious lawyers</a> have shown willingness to fight what may very well account to a frivolous lawsuit. Time will certainly tell.
