The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is fighting back. The organization has filed a civil lawsuit against the Yes Men, an activist group that announced that the chamber had changed its position on climate change.
The Yes Men told the National Press Club on October 19, 2009 that the Chamber of Commerce would give up lobbying against the Senate's 800-page climate change bill. Reuters, CNBC and Fox Business Network all reported on the story, with the anchors correcting themselves midstream, when they learned that it was false.
Steven Law, general counsel for the Chamber of Commerce, said, "The defendants are not merry pranksters tweaking the establishment." Instead, he says, "They deliberately broke the law in order to further commercial interest in their books, movies and other merchandise."
In its complaint, the chamber said it seeks to protect its trademark and other intellectual property from unlawful use by the Yes Men. It claims the group misappropriated the Chamber of Commerce logo, created a fake website and falsely claimed to be speaking as the chamber – basically, it's saying the Yes Men co-opted the chamber's identity for this stunt.
Even though this announcement was fake, the Chamber has had to deal with some very real, high-profile defections over climate change, including Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Exelon (NASDAQ: EXEL), Pacific Gas and Electric (ASE: PCG) and the Public Service Company of New Mexico.
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