California Trademark Infringement Case: The Italian "Oscars"

From Yahoo News:

Is "Oscar" a generic term? It may be in Italian, a Los Angeles judge has found in a decision to deny summary judgment in a case brought by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the world's most prestigious movie awards...

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.

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 Italy and in the Italian language."

...EchoStar's Los Angeles attorney, Kathy Jorrie, said the decision by Collins was significant because the court recognized that words have different meanings in different languages...

"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.

-Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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