Intellectual Property

A Jungian Analysis Of Bill Murray Getting Absolutely Blown Up By A Lawyer

Why write stale demand letters when you can be an artist?

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(Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for RFF)

You may not have known that Bill Murray, beloved cultural phenomenon, has a line of golf shirts. It’s a logical business move as Caddyshack forms the molten core of a golf fan’s worldview. But Murray’s brand also, apparently, runs ads for these shirts with the song “Listen to the Music” by the Doobie Brothers, which is exactly the sort of Yacht Rock that you can imagine blasting from a Mercedes pulling into a country club parking lot.

Unfortunately for Murray, he never bothered to secure any, you know, RIGHTS to use this song. Which brings us to 2020’s clubhouse leader for cease and desist letter of the year.

Eriq Gardner posted the letter on Twitter yesterday. It’s written by Peter Paterno of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, and is a work of art. Taking down a cultural icon this way may feel harsh, but not unlike sending children to the gas chamber, Paterno didn’t want to do it, he… felt he owed it to him. Let’s break it down.

We’re writing on behalf of our clients. the Doobie Brothers. The Doobie Brothers perform and recorded the song Listen to the Music, which Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers wrote.

So far so good. Entirely standard opening. As Joseph Campbell taught us, the hero’s journey must begin from a place of familiarity. This is what grounds the audience. What’s more, here we start to realize that there are two audiences taking this journey: Murray and we the legal writers of the world.

It’s a fine song. I know you agree because you keep using it in ads for
your Zero Hucks Given golf shirts.

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Uh oh. There’s a something wrong in the zone of familiarity. This could still be a thank you note… but despite appearances, it feels like something else is about to happen. We feel the tension mount as Paterno initiates the call to join him in this adventure.

However, given that you haven’t paid to use it, maybe you should change the company name to “Zero Bucks Given.”

We have crossed the first threshold, people. Not only for Murray’s tale but also for anyone expecting a run-of-the-mill cease-and-desist letter. A lawyer just made a joke? Welcome to the liminal state, motherf**kers!

We understand that you’re running other ads using music from other of our clients. It seems like the only person who uses our clients’ music without permission more than you do is Donald Trump.

The next stage of the hero’s journey has many names, but one of the most common is “trials, friends, and foes.” The hero is tested and meets the allies and adversaries that will define their journey into the realm of the unconscious. Murray’s in trouble. The Doobie Brothers are seemingly only one of his new enemies. And it seems like his only buddy right now is Donald Trump. Uh-oh.

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This is the part where I’m supposed to cite the United States Copyright Act,
excoriate you for not complying with some subparagraph that I’m too lazy to look up and threaten you with eternal damnation for doing so.

The realm of the magical mentor is where the hero meets someone who teaches them the ropes of this new world. In a normal letter, as Paterno points out, this is where the lawyer would act as teacher and inform us of the law. But in this wild journey into the unconscious of legal writing, Paterno’s here to teach us that we can let go of that 1L legal writing baggage and not cite chapter and verse to make our point because, you know, the lawyer on the other end will know full well what this means! After all, it’s not going to be… Lost in Translation. Hey yo!

But you already earned that with those Garfield movies.

With the mere mention of Garfield, we have most definitely reached the lowest point for Murray. As writers know, this is what Campbell would call the meeting with the Goddess. Down is up here. All we thought we knew about writing letters is cast aside and while disoriented there is a pull that makes us almost want to stay here in this moment of pure ownage that Paterno has given us.

This is probably that super awkward scene where Carl and Ty meet in the shed that was tacked onto the film despite the fact that Bill and Chevy famously hated each other. So… cannonball!

We’d almost be OK with it if the shirts weren’t so damn ugly. But it is what it is.

Alas, we cannot remain. The journey back begins. “It is what it is.” Now we return to the familiar of home… yet changed by the experience.

So in the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre. “Au revoir Golfer. Et payez!”

This is a standard C&D letter after all! Even if it’s one that takes one of Carl Spackler’s most famous lines and converts it into the demand. Although I probably would’ve gone with “hey, Murray, how about a little something for, you know, the effort, you know” but whatever. In any event, we are all richer for the experience.

Except Bill Murray, of course. He’s going to have to pay.

(The whole letter is available on the next page.)

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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