The parent company of Baltimore Gas and Electric is demanding Baltimore County?s Republican central committee stop mailing spoof billing statements that mock the company and the governor.
The faux statement jabs at the company and Gov. Martin O?Malley for major increases in electric rates, listing the account number as “We?re paying through the nose,” and replacing the company motto with “a company O?Malley thought he understood.”
Attorneys for Constellation Energy said the mailing ? which includes the company?s logo and closely resembles an actual billing statement ? infringes on trademark rights and implies the company approved the message.
“It is obvious that the party is using the mark and the BGE [overall appearance] to draw attention to its mailing and to deceive recipients about the identity of the mailing?s author,” Constellation attorney Steven Tiller wrote in a letter to party Chairman Chris Cavey this week.
Constellation is threatening a lawsuit if the party does not stop distributing the mailing and is demanding the names and addresses of all recipients.
Cavey said the committee has already complied with Constellation?s request and said the committee never intended “anything malicious.”
The committee sent the spoof statement, which included new voter registration forms and instructions on switching party affiliations, to about 7,500 Democrats, Cavey said.
“BGE didn?t take it as the parody it was supposed to be,” Cavey said. “… They don?t hate the Republican party ? it?s just business.”
