Quote:
Originally Posted by pornlaw
The trademark issue has recently been litigated in Los Angeles...
This case is from 2009 in the Central District of California (Los Angeles)
The owners of the Route 66 trademark sued Penthouse over their use of the Route 66 trademark in the title of a porn movie. The court sided with Penthouse in a summary judgment motion and dismissed all of the TM's owners claims.
http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx...WAR3-2007-CURR |
I'm not a lawyer, and I'm actually not familiar with any Route 66 television programs that the case mentions, but I think this is apples and oranges. Penthouse used "Route 66" in an attempt to refer to a road trip, and the "adventures" that could occur along the way. They were not spoofing an existing tv show, or whatever else Roxbury Entertainment associates their use of Route 66 with. There was no real connection between the two except for the wording "Route 66."
As opposed to the films mentioned earlier in this thread, who are intentionally attempting to conjure thoughts of the original IP with their "parody" works.
Again, I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see how the case you are referencing really has any connection to what is being discussed here. I'm drawing a blank at the moment, but I know for a fact there's plenty of instances of companies using the same wording/phrasing/branding/name for two entirely different types of products or IPs, and neither is infringing on the others trademark.