Elvis Has Left Vegas

[steve_bank]

Is there nothing more sacred than an Elvis wedding?

Las Vegas wedding chapels receive Elvis cease-and-desist letters

Some wedding chapels in Las Vegas are receiving cease-and-desist letters demanding they stop using Elvis' image and likeness in their operations, according to two letters obtained by CNN.

www.cnn.com

(CNN) — Some wedding chapels in Las Vegas are receiving cease-and-desist letters demanding they stop using Elvis' image and likeness in their operations, according to two letters obtained by CNN.
In letters two chapels have received and shared with CNN, an attorney for Authentic Brands Group (ABG) says the businesses -- Vegas Weddings and Viva Las Vegas Weddings -- are infringing on intellectual property rights related to Elvis Presley, creating "the false impression that Elvis Presley Enterprises has approved, endorsed, or sponsored the Infringing Chapel. The Infringing Chapel is clearly trading off the Elvis Presley intellectual property rights, image, name and likeness without the consent of Elvis Presley Enterprises."
In 2013, Authentic Brands Group announced that it had purchased the intellectual property associated with the rock-and-roll icon from Core Media Group.

 "As the guardians of the Elvis Presley estate, it is our responsibility to safeguard his legacy," ABG said in a statement Wednesday.
"This includes ensuring that all products, services, and advertisements utilizing Elvis' name, image, or likeness are officially licensed by Elvis Presley Enterprises," the statement said.
"The estate has strong relationships with official Elvis tribute artists, fan clubs, and festivals, as well as a robust global network of licensed merchandise partners. There is no intention to shut down chapels that offer Elvis packages in Las Vegas. We are seeking to partner with each of these small businesses to ensure that their use of Elvis' name, image, and likeness are officially licensed and authorized by the estate, so they can continue their operations."

 

[ZiprHead]

I guess that's within their rights.

Are Elvis weddings still a thing? I would think most of his fans are dead or near so.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The Elvis-impersonator shows around here are very careful not to identify "Elvis". Apparently the wedding chapels didn't realize the rules.

 

[steve_bank]

Congress should declare Elvis is in the public domain.

The Elvis corporation makes a lot of money year after year.

 

[senor boogie woogie]

I am from Memphis where Graceland is, and 45 years after his death is still an attraction. I went on the grounds once as a child but have never been in the house, but my late mother has. However from my understanding people are not allowed to see the second floor nor the bathroom where Elvis died, sitting on the toilet. I was 10 years old when he died, and the whole city was invaded by Elvis fans, and supposedly one could not get a room for a 100 mile radius. There are a few videos online of that week and wish there were more because it was a spectale.

Elvis would be 87 now if he were still alive which makes me question how many more years Graceland has left since now, most of their fans are dying off. I dont think their children, my generation is/was that interested in Elvis. I dare say that "Elvis Presley Enterprises" might have twenty years left. His daughter, Lisa Marie is a moron who is dead broke mostly because her and her moron mother are members of Scientology. I dont see why the mother Pricilla (or however you spell her name) and Elvis divorced years before he died, and she is trading on his dead name to give to a Ponzi scheme cult. I would like to kick Lisa Marie in the ass because she got this huge inheritance and can live a free life and she pissed it all away.

Lastly, if you get married in a wedding chapel in Las Vegas, you arent serious about your wedding. Remember the creepy Turpins, who chained their what, 15 kids to their beds, they redid their marriage vows in an Elvis wedding chapel. Maybe now in his jail cell, Big Bubba is bending over David singing "Love me Tender,"

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Lastly, if you get married in a wedding chapel in Las Vegas, you arent serious about your wedding. Remember the creepy Turpins, who chained their what, 15 kids to their beds, they redid their marriage vows in an Elvis wedding chapel. Maybe now in his jail cell, Big Bubba is bending over David singing "Love me Tender,"

Not being serious about your wedding isn't the same thing as not being serious about your partner.

We had a justice of the peace wedding 34 years ago--still together.

 

[senor boogie woogie]

I was also not married in a church or religious ceremony, it was in the court house of the town my wife is from. About a month later we had a wedding party, basically it was the reception without the church.

I lived in Las Vegas for almost two years over thirty years ago. For me it would be about the most unromantic place to get married. Las Vegas is cheesy, dirty, nothing but funk ass casinos. The only reason I would go there is because marijuana is legal now (when I was there marijuana was a felony, any amount).

I guess if this is what you want to do, but would rather be a sodomized by a grizzly bear than see an Elvis impersonator.

 

[Politesse]

Some people really enjoy all the cheesy nonsense. In which case, Las Vegas is definitely the right town to be in. I tend to avoid "The Strip" like the plague myself, even if in town for whatever reason, but I also try not to yuck other people's yums on general principle. I can see where "funny" might not be the worst theme for a wedding of two good humored people.

Transferable copyright is creativity-stifling nonsense.

 

[Bronzeage]

I have a friend who worked her way through college as a mermaid. The Little Mermaid movie was the hit of the year. She bought a mermaid costume and for a fee, would appear at children's pool parties. After graduating, she hired college girls to play the role and it became a business. These days she has a stable of Disney Princesses, everyone from Snow White to the latest generation. For a very reasonable price, your daughter and her friends get to celebrate birthdays with the Princess of their choice.

My friend is very careful to never use any of Disney's proper names. Since a costume can't be trademarked or copyrighted, she hasn't had any trouble from Disney.

All the wedding chapels need to do is change their name to some variation of "The King of Weddings" and the vultures who are making a living off of picking Elvis's bones can't do anything about it. It would be interesting to know what the Elvis estate would charge for a license to be the Official Elvis Wedding Chapel.

 

[Tharmas]

I had a good friend, now sadly deceased, who flew to Las Vegas with his fiancée to get married in a junky little chapel. They deliberately chose a daylight hour, when the city looked at its sleeziest, and took copious photos, which they loved to show. The chapel had a staircase coming out of a wall that the bride could be photographed on, and they took full advantage of that and various other kitsch props. They loved it. I don’t remember if they had an Elvis or not.

 

[TSwizzle]

My wife and I got married in Vegas at a wedding chapel and had a well known Elvis impersonator. It was fun.

I know that Disney has come down hard on high schools that use Disney material in their choir or theater performances.

 

[thebeave]

My wife and I got married in Vegas at a wedding chapel and had a well known Elvis impersonator. It was fun.

I know that Disney has come down hard on high schools that use Disney material in their choir or theater performances.

What was the temperature there when you got married?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I lived in Las Vegas for almost two years over thirty years ago. For me it would be about the most unromantic place to get married. Las Vegas is cheesy, dirty, nothing but funk ass casinos. The only reason I would go there is because marijuana is legal now (when I was there marijuana was a felony, any amount).

I've lived in Las Vegas for more than 30 years, haven't set foot in a casino in years and in general try to avoid the area they are in (too many tourists paying attention to the sights rather than the road, and too many drunks.) There's a decent city away from the casinos and excellent hiking outside town.

 

[senor boogie woogie]

I think another thing about Las Vegas is that one does not have to go into a casino, the casino is everywhere, especially in the supermarkets. A lot of people who go to the movies and go bowling go to "local casinos", entertainment venues off a casino which is usually in a neighborhood. Or going to a bar and having to see those video poker machines if you sit at the bar. I am far from a gambling addict, but its fun to stick $10-20 bucks in one and see what happens. Usually you lose the ten to twenty dollars. But I lived there decades before mobile phones and Wifi. Ironically I have a video poker game on my phone, no Royals yet, and this has been several years.

The late performer Andy Kaufman (1949-1984) was the one who started the Elvis impersonation thing. He was actually very good at it and was a good singer (for impersonating Elvis). I dont know if I was Elvis' daughter I would want people making fun of my father. These performers would say they are "honoring" his memory, but its making fun of him and his legacy. Why not have a Jim Morrison impersonator? Or a David Bowie impersonator? Liberace or a million others.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

None of those were as big as Elvis. I'd say the similarity would be Michael Jackson impersonator (who at one point was bigger than Elvis), but I do believe there are tributes for him now too. Almost everyone has a tribute these days. Elvis apparently is easier to do though? Not certain who'd want to be married by a fake Elvis... but Elvis certainly has a draw, decades after his death.