Thoughts on Solar by Jim Jenal

A group of solar advocates have received a cease and desist letter from Southern California Edison over a satirical video that dares to claim that SCE “is committed to rooftop solar - and by committed we mean committed to keeping it off your roof!"  Proof that SCE lacks both a sense of humor and common sense. (H/t Chris Clark at the ReWire blog on KCET.org)

The three groups threatened - presente.org, the Sierra Club (really!) and The Other 98% - have a website titled Save Rooftop Solar where the video was originally displayed.  On their website they make the case that rooftop solar is good for the Latino community.  That seems like a fair message to be communicating, but it is the group’s attack on SCE’s lobbying efforts that drew the IOU’s ire.  Here’s the video that SCE doesn’t want anyone to see:

Now this is clearly satire, and  no reasonable person viewing this would believe that SCE produced this video.  Moreover, in highlighting an issue of public interest - namely SCE’s lobbying campaign directed at Latino politicians (no doubt part of their faux “equity” argument) - the use of otherwise protected symbols and logos is certainly “fair use” and thus protected.  But that didn’t prevent SCE’s thin-skinned legal department, in this case Ms. Janet Combs, from sending a short-sighted nastygram:

It has come to our attention that presente.org has funded and posted a video on its website and on YouTube that infringes the Southern California Edison and Edison International (Edison) name and logo and makes false and misleading statements regarding Edison.

Specifically, the video, entitled Edison Hates Rooftop Solar, misrepresents itself as an Edison video and claims that Edison wants to “keep solar panels” off customers’ roofs through a “business plan” to “force” customers to buy “dirty energy” from “dirty power plants” that “poison poor communities.” The video claims that Edison is “spending big on Latino politicians” to make installing solar panels on customers’ roofs more expensive and discourage customers from installing solar panels.

These statements, and similar statements in the video, constitute false and misleading advertising under state and federal law. Moreover, the video’s use of the Southern California Edison and Edison International marks constitutes both federal and state trademark infringement and violates both the federal and state laws against unfair competition.

(Read Ms. Combs letter in its entirety here.)

Here’s the thing - first of all, the assertion that SCE has legal claims against the producers of this video is laughable.  But beyond that, when a video that practically no one has ever seen goes up on YouTube accusing you of being an evil corporation that is trying to (literally) squash your opponents, you do not counter that argument by sending C&D letters that threaten to squash your opponents.  (See also, the Streisand Effect.)

Let’s hope that these groups get lots of press over this and SCE is sufficiently humiliated over their strong-arm tactics.  Well, a guy can dream, can’t he?