Marilyn’s Estate Makes Gains in Brand Dispute

Marilyn’s estate has been given the green light to pursue trademark infringement claims against merchandiser A.V.E.L.A. Inc. by the Southern District of New York, as Bloomberg Law reports. This legal battle has been brewing for several years, with A.V.E.L.A recently contending that Marilyn’s brand was ‘too generic’ for copyright protection.

“The court rejected A.V.E.L.A. Inc.’s contention that persona rights of deceased celebrities are limited to family, direct heirs, or ‘the actual estate.’ Although the estate purchased the rights, an ‘unbroken chain of title’ extends from Monroe to the estate, the court said.

The court also shot down A.V.E.L.A.’s defenses based on the First Amendment, fair use and the estate’s alleged failure to take timely action.

But the court declined to award Monroe’s estate summary judgment on trademark infringement or trademark dilution claims since material facts are still in dispute. The court also denied judgment on unfair competition despite ‘bad-faith behavior of the A.V.E.L.A. is clear’ since doing otherwise required an infringement finding.

Both sides submitted surveys reaching opposing conclusions on consumer confusion. A.V.E.L.A. moved to toss the estate’s report, but the court said its methodology objections ‘are better addressed through cross-examination’ before a jury.”

ABG Nets Marilyn’s ‘Diamonds’ for $50K

The licensing arm of Marilyn’s estate, Authentic Brands Group (ABG) has purchased rights to ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ – her signature number from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – for $50,000, as Martin Rapaport writes for Diamonds.net.

“ABG Intermediate Holdings, which trades as Authentic Brands Group (ABG), acquired the intellectual property related to the actress and singer’s famous song title for $50,000 last month, according to a court filing. The purchase covers several trademarks registered in the US, Canada, the European Union and with the World Intellectual Property Organization, as well as relevant internet domain names — including diamondsareagirlsbestfriend.com — and a video-game registration.

A. Jaffe and Firestar Diamond, two of Nirav Modi’s American jewelry brands, were the previous owners. They filed for Chapter 11 in February after the Indian tycoon became the subject of a fraud investigation, with bankruptcy trustee Richard Levin subsequently liquidating the companies’ assets, including jewelry and intellectual property.

‘There were a lot of industry players excited and contemplating what we believe was a six-figure property,’ Donald Palmieri, president of the Gem Certification and Assurance Lab (GCAL) and appraiser to the trustee, told Rapaport News Monday. ‘Many expressed interest, even excitement, but when the sale occurred, only one bidder showed up who had serious interest and an open wallet.’

That bidder, ABG, offered $25,000, but later doubled the amount after Levin declared the property unsold.

‘They…asked what the trustee wanted,’ Palmieri continued. ‘He said $50,000, and [ABG] said $50,000. There were plenty of major players in the room who could have jumped in, but there were no further bids.'”