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Cameo Clips

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
December 28, 2006

Celebrity Images/Trade-Dress Claims

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction barring a wine company from using the name or image of Marilyn Monroe on its products. Nova Wines Inc. v. Adler Fels Winery LLC, 06-06149 MHP. The plaintiff ' which sold wines with labels of photographs of the late actress Marilyn Monroe under a license from Monroe's estate ' filed suit over the defendants' marketing of a wine featuring a 1949 photo of Monroe licensed from a photographer who had obtained a release from Monroe. The district court first found that even though Nova Wines was a licensee of the federally registered 'Marilyn Monroe' trademark, the plaintiff lacked standing to pursue its trademark-infringement claim because 'the license is non-exclusive [for wine] and does not convey a property interest.' Nova Wines also asserted an interest in a common-law trademark for 'Marilyn,' but the district court emphasized: 'The common first name 'Marilyn,' standing alone, is likely not a protectable trademark. ' Presumably, therefore, plaintiff is asserting an interest in the name 'Marilyn' as it is represented within the registered trademark comprised of the stylized 'Marilyn Monroe' signature. ' [But i]n any case, defendants represent that they have not and do not intend to use the stylized 'Marilyn' mark.'

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