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Hustler, Mugs and Parodies
Hustler, "the name
you trust, the sexual erotica you desire," demonstrated today just how
desirable the publication is -- to work with. LFP, Inc., the adult entertainment company that owns Hustler trademarks, and
CafePress, a user-generated commerce Web site, announced an amicable resolution
to the Hustler trademark dispute. LFP
had filed the suit in the Los Angeles Federal Court alleging that the use of
the word "hustler" in user-generated CafePress products, like t-shirts and mugs, infringed on LFP's
trademarks.
LFP dropped
the suit on the condition that CafePress remove certain content from the site.
According to a press release, the companies plan to build "a positive
relationship" and work together to create "a positive educational process for
creators of user generated content." Trustworthy, amicable, and educational -- that's hot.
This isn't the first time CafePress has come under fire for
trademark infringement. Charles Smith, a 50 year-old loather of Wal-Mart,
started selling "Wal-o-caust" products -- anti-Wal-Mart paraphernalia insinuating
that Wal-Mart's attempts to take over the world were similar to those of Hitler -- on
CafePress in 2005. Wal-Mart filed a suit against him, and the two-year legal
battle was anything but amicable. But when Smith moved his products to www.walocaust.com, CafePress was no longer
in the line of fire.
U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. ultimately ruled that Smith
had not violated the company's trademark, making Smith's case the latest in a
string of parody lawsuits favoring the parodists. A few months before Smith's
decision was handed down in March, Haute Diggity Dog won a case
filed against them by Louis Vuitton Malletier (LVM) alleging that the company's
"Chewy Vuiton" chew toys shaped like Louis Vuitton purses violated
LVM's trademark. Similarly, in 2002, a case filed by Mattel against Aqua, the
band that produced the one-hit-wonder "Barbie Girl," was decided on behalf of
the parodist.
Posted by Nicole White on June 24, 2008 at 07:16 PM | Permalink
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