After a fake commercial called "Edison Hates Rooftop Solar" went viral, Southern California Edison (SCE) has threatened Presente.org, the makers of the satirical video, with legal action if they do not "cease and desist" and receive assurances to that effect within 14 days. 

In a letter to Presente.org, SCE argues the video and the statements contained therein: 

"constitute false and misleading advertising under state and federal law. Moreover, the video's use of the Southern California Edison and Edison International marks constitutes both federal and state trademark infringement and violates both the federal and state laws against unfair competition."

Despite SCE's threat to pursue legal action, Presente.org issued a press release saying they "refuse to be intimidated" and vowing "to continue and expand [the] fight for solar energy."

“Southern California Edison’s threats against us are a joke,” said Arturo Carmona, Executive Director of Presente.org. “Instead of trying to divert the public’s attention by threatening to take legal action against our video parody, Edison and other utilities need to tell the public why they’ve spent nearly $900,000 lobbying Latino legislators. Our video parody exposes how and why they are trying to deliver a lethal blow on the future of rooftop solar,” Carmona added. “Instead of scaring us with their baseless legal threats, Edison and other big utilities have succeeded in motivating us even further to take our video to key television stations in Latino districts so that our community can better understand what some Latino legislators and these utilities are doing to kill cost-saving rooftop solar efforts.”

"The use of corporate logos for satire is standard practice recognized by law. But Southern California Edison obviously doesn't care for the satirical message of this video," said John Sellers of The Other 98%. "They're mad as hell that we've exposed their lobby’s calculated attempt to squelch the state’s rooftop solar economy. [...]"

SCE decided to tackle the video head on but that seems to only have exacerbated the problem. More worryingly for SCE, the media and the public have become more aware of the video—precisely the opposite of the threat's intended effect. It is as yet unclear whether SCE will now pursue legal action against Presente.org. What is clear is that SCE is winding up with egg on its face. Stay tuned.