[Upd-discuss] Jewish Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame sued over trademark
violation
Dean Anderson
dean@av8.com
Wed, 9 Feb 2005 11:17:19 -0500 (EST)
Trademark infringement is all about whether something creates confusion or
not. The example of "Jewish McDonald's" perhaps being a kosher McDonalds
is certainly confusing.
But "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" is a pretty genericly descriptive phrase.
Most people would perceive "Rock and Roll" as a kind of music, and "Hall
of Fame" as a kind of honor society. There is already other kinds of Halls
of fame, and other kinds of music besides Rock and Roll. There is, for
example, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Pretty plainly, "Jewish Rock and Roll" is a kind of music genre (as genres
distinguished by lyrical topic or by artist race or belief), such as
Christian Rock, Jazz or other kinds of music. It would not be confusing
to have a Hall of Fame for other kinds of music.
Further, a simple note on a web site should be sufficient to remove any
possibility whatsoever of confusion. These are common, and crosslinking
requests are usually welcomed.
So, frankly, one wonders if market confusion is really their concern with
this lawsuit.
--Dean
On Tue, 8 Feb 2005, Robert Weissman wrote:
> Rock museum sues to stop Jewish rock Web site
> Wed February 9, 2005 7:22 AM GMT+05:30
>
> By Arthur Spiegelman
>
> LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is all
> shook up -- or as they might say in Yiddish, all "verklempt" (upset) --
> over the name for a virtual museum celebrating the Jewish contribution
> to rock music.
>
> The Cleveland-based museum has asked a federal judge to stop two
> journalists and a radio company executive from putting up a Web site
> called the Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, saying the site will
> infringe on the original's trademark name and that the public would
> confuse the two.
>
> But the people behind the Web site said they cannot understand why the
> Rock and Rock Hall of Fame is making such a "tsimmes" (Yiddish for big
> deal) over their plans to celebrate the exploits of such diverse talents
> as Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, some of the Ramones, Lou Reed and Elvis
> Presley's tailor, "Nudi" Cohen.
>
> Their nonprofit Web site, which is not up and running yet, plans to
> publish articles on the Internet about Jews who rock.
>
> In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Cleveland, the museum said
> journalists David Segal, Jeffrey Goldberg and radio executive Allen
> Goldberg "misappropriated Rock Hall's substantial intellectual property
> rights as well as the goodwill associated therewith. Unless restrained
> ... by the court, such conduct will, permit defendants to gain an unfair
> advantage over Rock Hall."
>
> It said the Cleveland museum has suffered irreparable harm and was
> seeking damages in excess of $100,000.
>
> 'THEY DON'T OWN THE JEWS'
>
> Regan Fay, a lawyer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which has
> attracted 5.5 million visitors since opening in 1995, said calling
> something the Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was going to confuse people.
>
> "I don't think people would know the difference (between the two). We
> have a lot of Jewish rock and rollers in the Hall of Fame. ... It's like
> saying the Jewish Oscars or the Jewish Football Hall of Fame," he said,
> adding:
>
> "It is a well-known trademark principal that putting your name in front
> of another name is a trademark infringement, like you can't call
> something a Jewish McDonald's because then people would think it is
> McDonald's that is kosher."
>
> In court papers, the Hall of Fame said it has honored "numerous
> performers, songwriters and producers with Jewish heritage" including
> "Cleveland's own Alan 'Moondog' Freed," a disc jockey who helped
> popularize the music.
>
> Jeffrey Goldberg, Washington correspondent for the New Yorker, said,
> "Speaking as a layman, I don't think they own rock and roll and I don't
> think they own the phrase 'Hall of Fame' and I know for sure they don't
> own the Jews."
>
> Segal, a Washington Post reporter and former rock critic for that paper,
> said, "The ideas that anyone would confuse a large museum with a Web
> site run by a couple of Jewish guys with a computer is amazing to me,
> especially since it isn't even up yet."
>
> Segal said the Web site would include articles about Jews in rock and
> roll, from record company executive Clive Davis to singer Bob Dylan to
> tailor "Nudie" Cohen, who designed suits for Elvis and Hank Williams.
> One piece would analyze references to the torah in Dylan's lyrics.
>
> ------------
>
> Rock and Roll hall sues Jewish rock hall
> Suit alleges trademark infringements on rock hall's name
> The Associated Press
> Updated: 8:48 p.m. ET Feb. 8, 2005
>
> CLEVELAND - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has sued the online Jewish
> Rock and Roll Hall of Fame over alleged trademark infringements of the
> rock hall’s name.
>
> The lawsuit filed Monday in Cleveland seeks to halt the use of the name
> Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and award the Cleveland rock hall
> unspecified damages. The lawsuit claims the rock hall has sold more than
> $5 million in licensed items in the past 10 years, and the Jewish rock
> hall jeopardizes that brand.
>
> David Segal, a writer for The Washington Post and one of founders of the
> Jewish rock hall, said backers plan to launch the new Web site next
> month. The Jewish rock hall’s site showed a single message Tuesday:
> Future Home of JewsRock.org.
>
> “The idea that the public could possibly be confused between a large
> museum backed by any number of corporations and a Web site run by a
> couple of Jewish guys is kind of nuts,” he said.
>
> Jeffrey Goldberg, a writer for The New Yorker magazine and another
> Jewish rock hall founder, called the organization “a little Web-based
> exercise in ethnic pride.”
>
> “It seems to be improbable that these people own ’rock ’n’ roll,’ it’s
> entirely unlikely they own the phrase ’hall of fame,’ and I know for
> sure they don’t own the Jews,” Goldberg said.
>
> Segal and Goldberg are both named as defendants in the suit, along with
> the other Jewish rock hall founder, XM Satellite Radio executive Allen
> Goldberg.
>
> According to the lawsuit, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last
> month denied the Jewish rock hall’s application for a trademark on its
> name based on the likelihood of “confusion with the Rock Hall” trademarks.
>
> Following the ruling, the rock hall demanded the Jewish rock hall stop
> using its trademarks, similar logos and the words “Jewish Rock and Roll
> Hall of Fame,” but the Jewish rock hall refused.
>
> The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened in 1995 in an glass
> pyramid building alongside Lake Erie. It has attracted more than 5.5
> million visitors.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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