Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.06.2018, Page 62

62 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2018
....OPEN FROM 06:00
Syphilis. The Spanish Inquisition. Ari-
ana Grande’s ‘No Tears Left To Cry’—
there are some things you just can’t joke
about. But these trinkets are zilch in
comparison to the bad boy of the court-
room. That’s right, we’re talking about
the decidedly not funny Mr. Copyright
Law. C’mon, if season two of “Westworld”
has taught you anything, it’s that you
don’t fuck with IP unless you’re cruisin’
for a bruisin’.
The opening argument
Cartoonist and notorious funny man
Hugleikur Dagsson learned this unfor-
tunate lesson first hand last December,
when he was unceremoniously awoken
from his slumber by an ominous letter.
Okay, it was an email.
The dire directive informed our fair
artist that his famous t-shirt, which
features an Icelandic stick figure—you
know he’s Icelandic because he’s wearing
a Icelandic football costume—yelling
“HÚ”, was infringing on his patent. Ap-
parently, this sneaky entrepreneur had
managed to copyright a sound: HÚH. We
can only assume he was part American.
“He said that we should either back down
or pay him,” Hugleikur writes to me over
Facebook chat. You can almost feel the
teary emojis coming through his key-
board. Hugleikur immediately consulted
his lawyer. “We felt like we had a moral
high ground so we kept printing those
shirts,” he says. Unfortunately, our im-
pressive aural tycoon had come to the
table with legal backing too. Drama!
DOXX HIM
Hugleikur then did what any self-re-
specting modern Renaissance man
would do and took the problem straight
to Facebook, retelling his tale of attempt-
ed extortion alongside a sales pitch for
the contentious tee, with a cut of the
profit going to the Icelandic Cancer So-
ciety. It went viral, with millions—ok
maybe thousands—horrified. “Facebook
buried him,” Hugleikur admits. “I admit
it was kind of a dick move to throw the
guy under the social media bus.” He vir-
tually shrugs. “But sometimes you have
to fight a dick move with a dick move.”
The internet army came through, and
the HÚH-magnate backed down.
While Hugleikur still sells the tee, he’s
put the past in the past and is moving on
to bigger and brighter shirt pastures. “I
felt I was becoming a sell-out with the
old shirt and wanted to take the concept
to a darker and dirtier place,” he says.
“So now you can buy a HÚ shirt with a
slaughtered whale saying ‘HÚ’ and a man
who is fucking a sheep saying ‘HÚ’.”
CITY SHOT by Art Bicnick
WAR OF THE NERDS
Hugleikur’s
HÚ-riffic Tale
Don’t mess with intellectual property, bruh
Words:
Hannah Jane
Cohen
Photo:
Hugleikur
Dagsson
Get out there whatever the weather
WELL, YOU ASKED
A World
Cup Advice
Special
Words: Valur Grettisson

What alcoholic beverage should I be
partaking in at Ingólfstorg whilst
watching the game? (From @theboy-
blair)
Well, my first choice is always Landi,
the traditional Icelandic moonshine. At
least that’s what I reach for when I watch
the agonisingly boring sport of football.
There are not many drinks that can just
rob you of your mental health in such an
extraordinary short amount of time, but
Landi really does the trick.
How is it that so many Icelandic people
signed a petition to boycott the Eurovi-
sion in Israel and no one signed a peti-
tion to boycott the world cup in Russia
after its occupation of Crimea, involve-
ment in bombing Syria and great hu-
man rights agenda? Hypocrisy or sheer
stupidity? (From @RodNimrod)
Our government is boycotting the biggest
sports event in Icelandic history for these
very reasons, so there is no need for a pe-
tition. Still feel smart on your high horse,
Mr. Nimrod!?
I’m going to Reykjavík to watch the
Argentina vs. Iceland match with the
Icelandic people. I have a problem
though. My husband insists he’ll wear
his England shirt on the day of the
match. What should I do? I’m thinking
of pretending I don’t know him. (From
@AdoptaIslanda)
Just divorce him now. You'll thank me
later.

Send your unsolvable (UNTIL NOW )
problems to editor@grapevine.is
Huh?