The Doobie Brothers have sent a comedic cease-and-desist letter to Bill Murray after he repeatedly used one of the band’s songs in his commercials. Attorney Peter Paterno, who is a golf buddy of Murray’s according to The New York Times, was writing on the band’s behalf, and noted that he was sure Murray knew the law.
“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,” he joked sarcastically. “But you already earned that with those Garfield movies. And you already know that you can’t use music in ads without paying for it.”
The ads in question feature The Doobie Brothers’ song “Listen to the Music,” and promote the William Murray Golf Collection’s new “Zero Hucks Given” shirts.
“It’s a fine song,” Paterno said. “I know you agree because you keep using it in ads for your Zero Hucks Given golf shirts. However, given that you haven’t paid to use it, maybe you should change the name to ‘Zero Bucks Given.'”
Apparently, Murray isn’t new to this kind of copyright infringement, as Paterno hints in the letter.
“It seems like the only person who uses our clients’ music without permission more than you do is Donald Trump,” he wrote after stating other musicians had similar issues with Murray’s ads.
The letter in its entirety has been uploaded on Twitter by reporter Eriq Gardner.
Murray has not yet officially responded to Paterno’s claims, but his golf collection’s Instagram has instead taken the time to celebrate his recent birthday with a few posts.
