This ongoing legal dispute is just amazing! Comedian and golf enthusiast Bill Murray has been using the song “Listen to the Music” by the Doobie Brothers in ads for his Zero Hucks Given golf shirts without their permission. This is where a simple cease-and-desist would be filed, but something else happened…
The Doobies’ lawyers sent Bill a letter saying they were onto him, quote, “Maybe you should change the company name to “Zero BUCKS Given.” They also said they’d threaten Bill with eternal damnation, but, quote, “you already earned that with those ‘Garfield’ movies.” And, they took a shot at the shirts, saying, “We’d almost be OK with it if the shirts weren’t so damn ugly. But it is what it is.”
Bill Murray’s lawyers responded, quote, “[We] are indeed fans of the Doobie Brothers’ music, which is why we appreciate your firm’s choice of ‘Takin’ It to the Streets’, rather than to the courts, which are already overburdened ‘Minute by Minute’ with real problems.”
They also offered to settle the dispute by sending shirts to everyone in the band. They said, “We will happily upgrade your wardrobes and hopefully win each of you over as new fans of the brand. At least that’s ‘what this fool believes.'”
