[A2k] Legal Issue: who owns Christmas in the US?

[Manon Ress]

Legal Issues
Who Owns Christmas?
William Pentland, 12.10.08, 11:20 AM EST
'Tis the season for intellectual property lawyers.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/10/christmas-legal-lawsuits-biz-media-cx_wp_1=
210christmas.html?feed=3Drss_news

In late November, Louisville, Ky., abruptly abandoned plans for a
Christmas display based on the story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

It wasn't because of public uproar, or the big green meanie terrifying
small children. No, it was the cease-and-desist letter from lawyers
representing the estate of legendary children's author Dr. Seuss,
threatening to sue for copyright infringement if the city went ahead
with the Grinch-themed display.

"It appears these lawyers' hearts are two sizes too small," Louisville
Mayor Jerry Abramson told reporters at the time.

Same thing happened in Medford, Mass. The town narrowly escaped a
copyright infringement suit for a Christmas celebration called "Jingle
Bells Festival." Medford officials agreed to rename the festival next
year after Black Crow Media, a company based in Valdosta, Ga., filed a
lawsuit alleging infringement.
In Pictures: A Slew Of Santa Suits

So be warned. Christmas may be a lot of things, but it's also a boon
for lawyers, as owners of some of your most beloved holiday traditions
defend their intellectual property rights from all comers.

Santa Claus is a case in point. Father Christmas, a British company
and owner of Santa-Claus.com, owns a trademark for "Santa Claus."
Trademark experts say that "Santa Claus" has become part of the public
domain and that the trademark probably would not pass muster in a
legal challenge. But apparently, the U.S. Patent and Trade Office
didn't agree. In 2000, it added the =93Santa Claus=94 trademark to the
long list of approved holiday-themed, legally recognized trademarks,
which include everything from "Santa's Elf" clothing to "St. Nick's"
beer to "Santa Claws" pet apparel.

Domain names are also a holiday legal hot spot. GlobalAccess, an
obscure company located on the equally obscure Isle of Man, has owned
Christmas.com since 1994. Versimedia, which also owns
GreetingCards.com, has owned Hanukkah.com since 1997. P. Gordon, owner
of Getaway.com and UnitedStates.com, owns Holidays.com.
Comment On This Story

And those pictures of your kids with the mall Santa? You may own the
print, but not the image itself. That belongs to the individual or
institution that took the photograph. Unless you shot the photograph
with your own camera, making copies of a print is illegal.
Unfortunately, most people only discover this when an unlucky clerk at
Kinko's or Wal-Mart refuses to create a copy without permission from
the copyright owner.

Even asking for presents is in legal limbo. Much to the chagrin of
computer-savvy children everywhere, a company in Florida called
Channel Intelligence says it owns the rights to digital wish lists.
Last week, it filed a lawsuit against half a dozen Internet start-ups
alleging patent infringement, saying they had violated the patent by
creating ways for users to create wish lists for products that people
may want others to buy for them.

For Arthur Rankin Jr., creator of Claymation TV classics like Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and The Year Without a
Santa Claus, it's all become a bit much.
Dugg on Forbes.com

"If I had written the Grinch story, I would let the people in
Louisville use it," says Rankin. "These days it can seem more like the
Grinch who stole Hollywood sometimes."

Rankin is trying to recover more than $2 million in royalties from
Warner Bros., which he says failed to pay him contractual fees for
broadcasting the holiday specials. Warner Bros. declined to comment on
the case.

***************************************************************************
Manon Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
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