Oscar Trademark Cases

The Holloywood Reporter, Esq. reports on two lawsuits brought by Oscar owner the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The first involves AMPAS's suit against the website Oscarwatch.com for trademark infringement [complaint]. THR, ESQ. quote's AMPAS's attorney, which sounds like a good PR quote to me:

"The Academy isn't really pursuing monetary damages," said David Quinto of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges. "The Academy's interest here is putting a stop to the offensive conduct and not in trying to make a buck."

The second suit is against broadcaster RAI International, who produces two Italian-language programs with the name "Wine Oscars" and "Fashion Oscars." The shows are distributed in the US by EchoStar.

While I haven't yet read the court's decision dening AMPAS's motion for summary judgment, this quote certainly peaked my interest:

Whether the practice violates U.S. law remains to be seen. A judge in March refused an Academy motion for summary judgment against RAI, suggesting cultural semantic distinctions might mean that Italians view the word Oscar more generically than Americans.

THR, ESQ's original story on "Oscar" being possibly generic in Italian here.

Technorati Tags: trademark, Hollywood, generic, domain names, infringement

Limited Stores sues Quiksilver for trademark infringement

Columbus, Ohio based Limited Stores, LLC sued Quiksilver, Inc. for trademark infringement over Quiksilver's use of "The Limited Collection" (link to Women's Wear Daily story).

Technorati Tags: trademark, infringement, litigation, clothing, Limited Stores, LimitedBrands, Quiksilver

Toto, are we still in Kansas?

Two Kansas related trademark news stories.

Number 1, the Hells Angels have sued a Kansas couple for trademark infringement. According to the lawsuit, the couple was selling patches on eBay emblazoned with an image similar to the Hells Angels federally registered "death head" mark.




Number 2, the University of Kansas, through the Collegiate Licensing Company, sued Joe-College.com for printing shirts that reference the University of Kansas. According to Associate AD Jim Marchiony, "many of the shirts attach themselves to the University and are in poor taste." Such as one shirt containing the phrase "Muck Fizzou." Mizzou, being a rival of KU, just switch the "M" and the "F," and you get the point.



In an apparent response to the lawsuit, Joe-College put the following on it's website, in bold no less:

PLEASE DO NOT BE CONFUSED
THIS STORE SELLS UNLICENSED CLOTHING

What? "Exhibit A your honor ..."

Further, Joe-College has a Do not be confused page, which says:

• Nothing you are looking at was made by the University of Kansas
• Nothing you are looking at originated with the University of Kansas
• Nothing you are looking at was made for the University of Kansas
• Nothing you are looking at was authorized or licensed by the University of Kansas
• No part of the proceeds of the sale of these items will go to, or benefit the University of Kansas
• All of the above is true for the Collegiate Licensing Company, and for the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and for the NFL, and MLB, and the NBA, and the NHL, and for every other college, university, and professional sports franchise that exists anywhere that sells any kind of clothing

Smack! What are these guys thinking. Oh, they're not. Check out the What Happens in Lawrence Stays in Lawrence shirt. Vegas Baby!

UPDATE: It seems the editorial staff of the KU student newspaper sides with Joe-College.

Trademark law is a malleable field within the developing world of intellectual property, and the University would be wise to not rush into any unnecessary action in this still evolving area. The Jayhawk logo, University name and obvious athletic references are trademarks worth protecting. But the foray into the distasteful shelves of Joe-College.com comes dangerously close to infringing upon free market practice by private vendors.

Whoa! Just spilled my drink.

UPDATE 2: Forgive me, but it looks like the editorial staff is engaging in a bit of point/counterpoint.

Yes the shirts at joecollege.com are unlicensed, but the shirts are inextricably linked to the University because of their content. For every person at the game or at home watching that knows the shirts aren’t associated with the University, there’s another person that thinks the two are one in the same. Bill Skepnek, attorney for Joe-College.com, was quoted in Tuesday’s Kansan as saying “Trademark law is not intended to protect a fool,” but do we really want our image in the hands of all those “fools” that will create negative associations between the two? Certainly not. Leaving the University’s image in the hands of all those inevitable “fools” is silly.

UPDATE 3: Maybe with these college stutent's new found attention to trademark law, maybe we can get as romantic as copyright law.

Technorati Tags: trademark, infringement, wtf, hells angels, ku, kansas, mizzou, joe-college, disclaimer

BuySafe sues eBay

Auctionbytes reports that BuySafe sued eBay for trademark infringement over eBay's "buy safely" section on an individual item page. BuySAFE describes its solution as follows

buySAFE offers a unique solution to one of the biggest challenges that online shoppers face – knowing who to trust.

A buySAFE Seal on a merchant's Website or marketplace item listing indicates that the merchant has:

* passed the rigorous buySAFE Certification Process to ensure they are trustworthy and reliable;

* agreed to allow buySAFE to continuously monitor their performance in every transaction; and

* qualified to guarantee their transactions with a bond from buySAFE and its surety partners — Liberty Mutual, Travelers, and ACE USA.

Consumers who wish to make a purchase from buySAFE Merchants may visit buySAFE Shopping at http://www.buysafeshopping.com/, or may search for buySAFE Bonded Items on eBay, Overstock.com Auctions, TIAS.com, or select retail Websites. At any time, there are millions of Bonded Items for sale online.

eBay states that it uses the phrase "buy safely" in a descriptive manner.

Technorati Tags: trademark, infringement, litigation, ebay, buysafe, descriptive defense

Is Stoney River Confusingly Similar to Rocky River?

That's what O'Charley's Inc. claims in it's lawsuit against Darden Resaurants Inc. O'Charley's claims that Darden's Rocky River Grillhouse (below) infringes upon its trademark Stoney River Legendary Steaks (top). This all reported in The Tennessean.

Personally I wouldn't be confused, but I am not the standard. ; )

Despite the outcome, this case shows the importance of having a name cleared before actually using it and incurring the expense involved in creating and marketing the name. (Please note that I do not know whether or not Darden conducted a trademark search). While Darden may have the financial wherewithal to defend the suit, I suspect that most mom and pop restaurants would not. They would either have to change their names or divert funds in their defense.

Technorati Tags: trademark, infringement, likelihood of confusion, restaurants, search