elyob wrote:
[Kryptostull]
However, the good Mr. Ballantine posted the following, from "Publishers
Weekly", to the hpv mailing list yesterday:
"Trademark of Steel? Court Backs DC in Kryptonite Suit
In the bizarro lawsuit of the day, a federal judge has ruled that DC Comics
can move forward with a trademark-infringement lawsuit against
a bicycle-lock company that uses Kryptonite as the company name and on a
series of security devices.
Judge Richard Owen of the Southern District Court of New York also dismissed
counterclaims by the Kryptonite Corporation that DC Comics
did not own trademark rights to the term Kryptonite because it had never
used the term in connection with the sale of goods or services.
Barring a settlement, the case will go to trial.
The lawsuit grew out of a 1983 agreement between DC Comics and the
Kryptonite company that gave the bicycle lock company limited rights to the
use of the "Krypto" prefix. DC Comics is charging that the firm has breached
that original agreement and its trademarks by using Kryptonite on a wider
variety of products than called for under the deal.
In making the ruling, Owen noted that trademark law protects, "a broad
spectrum of marks, symbols, design elements and characters," which the
public "directly associates" with a particular trademark. Owen also cited a
1981 trademark ruling in the case of Warner Bros. v. Gay Toys
Inc., which established that "ingredients" in major entertainment trademarks
can be protected."
They're all mad, I tell you!
--
Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
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Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
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