Sunday,
March 18, 2007
AMPAS Sues RAI: Is "Oscar" a
Generic Term in Italian ???
The
ANNOTICO Report
The
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, (AMPAS) which organizes the
world's most prestigious movie awards and aggressively protects its
"Oscar" name and image, filed suit against Italian broadcaster RAI
International for trademark infringement over its broadcast of several awards
programs using the word "Oscar." Among the programs: Wine Oscars,
Fashion Oscars, TV Oscars and Music Oscars.
March
17, 2007
Is
"Oscar" a generic term? It may be in Italian, a
The Academy, which aggressively protects its "Oscar" name and image,
filed suit against Italian broadcaster RAI International for trademark
infringement over its broadcast of several awards programs using the word
"Oscar." Among the programs: Wine Oscars, Fashion Oscars, TV Oscars
and Music Oscars, according to AMPAS' attorney, David Quinto.
RAI International is distributed by satellite firm EchoStar Communications
Corp., which is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. According to the
suit, RAI broadcast the "Oscar" shows to
In denying AMPAS' motion for summary judgment, U.S. District Court Judge Audrey
Collins wrote that there is no question that the Oscar mark is strong in the
English language and, "The use of 'Oscar' to describe an award or awards
program is arbitrary or fanciful and deserves maximum protection. However,
EchoStar has presented evidence showing that the word 'Oscar' could be
considered generic in
The awards programs were shown in the
"EchoStar presents evidence that the meaning of 'Oscar' in the
Italian-language programs is quite different than the meaning of 'Oscar' in
English," Collins wrote in the March 6 opinion.
The shows also used words in their titles besides "Oscar" and
appeared to focus on achievement in Italian industries other than
entertainment.
But Quinto said non-Italian citizens watch RAI in the
"The Academy has already requested that EchoStar produce its complete
customer list, and we'll engage a customer market expert to gauge whether there
is actual confusion," Quinto said. "It
doesn't end the case. The court has simply said on the record before it (that)
the evidence was insufficient to grant the motion."
EchoSt ar's
"In our case, because 'Oscar' means 'award' to the Italian language, it is
not likely that an Italian viewer would confuse Italian titles such as 'Oscar
del Vino' (Wine Award) or 'La Kore
-- Oscar della moda' (La Kore
Fashion Award) to have any connection with (AMPAS) simply because of the
inclusion of the word 'Oscar' in the title of such foreign-language
programs," she said.
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