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<i>Decision of Note:</i> 'Buck Rogers' Dilution Claim Remains in Play

By Stan Soocher

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a false designation-of-origin claim under the federal Lanham Act in a “Buck Rogers” trademark dispute, but allowed the plaintiff to proceed with a trademark dilution claim under the federal statute. The Dille Family Trust v. The Nowlan Family Trust, 15-6231.

In 1942, to settle litigation between them, the widow of Buck Rogers creator Philip Francis Nowlan assigned intellectual property rights, including “Buck Rogers” trademarks, to the John F. Dille Co., for whose National Newspaper Service the late Nowlan had come up with the Rogers character. But the Dille and Nowlan trusts nevertheless have battled for years over Buck Rogers trademark rights.

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