“Route 66″ DVD maker sues porn producer June 17, 2008
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Television.trackback
Roxbury Entertainment, the same folks that are re-releasing the original “Route 66″ television show on DVD, has filed a federal lawsuit against Penthouse for using the words “Route 66″ to market a pornographic film and DVD, reports Courthouse News Service.
You can read all the — ahem — dirty details with a copy of the lawsuit here (don’t worry — save for a few clinical details about the porno flick, it’s tame).
Roxbury, as has been reported here, acquired the rights to the “Route 66″ TV show some years ago and is producing a new film based on it. It accused Penthouse of using its “Route 66″ trademark to peddle “grossly inferior products, poorly produced pornography with virtually no storyline, dialogue or acting.”
Penthouse defends its use of “Route 66″ under fair-use laws.
I honestly don’t think Roxbury has a prayer in prevailing in this suit. The porn DVD’s cover art and logo bear no resemblance to the original TV show. Also, it’s my understanding that Route 66 itself is so old, it’s in the public domain.
Besides the fair-use defense, I also suspect that if pressed, Penthouse can also defend its work as satire, thus giving it even more protection on First Amendment grounds.
I strongly suspect that Roxbury isn’t filing the suit to protect its brand, but to provide ink for its product and upcoming movie.
Via TMZ.
[...] addition to the motion picture and new TV series, Hallam has also returned to his law practice to file lawsuits against Penthouse magazine for creating a series of pornographic films under the title of “Route 66” and allegedly [...]
Does the male lead look like George Maharis? ‘Cos if he doesn’t, I think viewers can make a strong case that this film’s use of the name constitutes false advertising.
[...] I surmised 18 months ago that the lawsuit wouldn’t prevail due to First Amendment reasons. But the ruling about copyright infringement made Penthouse’s defense of its film even more of a slamdunk than I ever suspected. [...]