Fox Sues Humorist Al Franken Over Slogan

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mikenycLI
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Fox Sues Humorist Al Franken Over Slogan

Postby mikenycLI » Tue Aug 12, 2003 6:28 am

Lawyers and Money, gone MAD !

Courtesy of washingtonpost.com...

Fox Sues Humorist Al Franken Over Slogan

The Associated Press
Monday, August 11, 2003; 5:15 PM


NEW YORK - Fox News Channel has sued liberal humorist Al Franken and the Penguin Group to stop them from using the phrase "fair and balanced" in the title of his upcoming book.




Filed Monday in Manhattan, the trademark infringement lawsuit seeks a court order forcing Penguin to rename the book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right." It also asks for unspecified damages.

Fox News registered "Fair & Balanced" as a trademark in 1995, the suit says.

Franken's "intent is clear - to exploit Fox News' trademark, confuse the public as to the origins of the book and, accordingly, boost sales of the book," the suit said.

Calls to Penguin and Franken's publicist were not immediately returned. The book is due out next month.


© 2003 The Associated Press

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dy ... ge=printer

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Re: Fox Sues Humorist Al Franken Over Slogan

Postby lukpac » Tue Aug 12, 2003 8:26 am

mikenycLI wrote:confuse the public as to the origins of the book


I really liked that line. "What?! You mean Fox News *didn't* publish a book trashing themselves?!"

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Postby mikenycLI » Tue Aug 12, 2003 8:48 am

No, Luke, they needed a Democrat to do that !

Interestingly, it sounds like one of those nuisance law suits, this time, initiated by FOX. I would have LOVED to have been at the meeting for this one, at FOX !

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Postby seth » Tue Aug 12, 2003 10:45 am

What amazes me is that Fox actuaaly got a trademark registration for "fair & balanced" in 1998. You're not supposed to be able to register "merely descriptive" phrases as trademarks. Then again, in Fox's case the phrase is more misdescriptive than descriptive.

Seth

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Postby Rspaight » Tue Aug 12, 2003 8:11 pm

I think journalists everywhere should sue Fox for using the word "News" to describe their channel.

Ryan
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Postby Ron » Wed Aug 13, 2003 3:21 am

My one big laugh for the day. Thanks.
Dr. Ron :mrgreen:TM "Do it 'till you're sick of it. Do it 'till you can't do it no more." Jesse Winchester

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Postby Patrick M » Sun Aug 17, 2003 12:14 am

As always, I won't make up my mind till I know what Jon Stewart thinks:

http://www.bartcop.com/js-fox-franken2.mp3

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Postby mikenycLI » Sun Aug 17, 2003 1:05 am

A couple of related stories....

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX WED AUGUST 13, 2003 12:05:38 ET XXXXX

O'REILLY LOBBIED FOR LAWSUIT

**Exclusive**

FOX NEWS star Bill O'Reilly lobbied his network to file suit against author Al Franken and his upcoming book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right," top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

"For Bill, above all other things, this was a matter of honor and support," a top source explained from New York.

MORE

In his book, Franken directly challenges O'Reilly on his journalistic record and aggressively accuses cable's top-rated host of exaggeration, padding of his resume and other claims.

"He is not going to sit by and let Franken smear the hell out of him," a top FOX source said.

The lawsuit does not directly address the content of the book on charges of libel, rather it claims Fox has trademarked "Fair and Balanced" to describe its news coverage and that Mr. Franken's use of the phrase would "blur and tarnish" it.

MORE

http://www.drudgereportarchives.com/dat ... 45_bof.htm


AND>.................................

Funnyman Franken Fires Back at Fox's Lawsuit
Tue Aug 12, 7:29 PM ET


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Humorist Al Franken fought back against Fox News Network on Tuesday over a lawsuit it filed claiming he infringed on its "fair and balanced" trademark by using the phrase on the cover of his upcoming book.



"From everything I know about law regarding satire, I'm not worried," liberal satirist Franken said in a statement issued by publishers Penguin Group.


Franken questioned the way he was described by the network, part of the News Corp group, in the 17-page suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday and made public on Monday.


"As far as the personal attacks go, when I read 'intoxicated or deranged' and 'shrill and unstable' in their complaint, I thought for a moment I was a Fox commentator.


"And by the way, a few months ago, I trademarked the word 'funny.' So when Fox calls me 'unfunny,' they're violating my trademark. I am seriously considering a countersuit," he said.


Fox is seeking an injunction against use of the phrase in connection with Franken's book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," due to be published next month. At the bottom of the planned cover is the tag line "a fair and balanced look at the right."


Fox said in the suit that Franken flew into a rage near a table of Fox News personalities at a press correspondents' dinner in April and acted "either intoxicated or deranged."


It said Franken has become "increasingly unfunny."


"Franken is neither a journalist nor a television news personality. He is not a well-respected voice in American politics; rather, he appears to be shrill and unstable," the suit said.


Fox claims it registered the phrase "fair and balanced" in 1997 and that it "was created as a specific alternative to what its founders perceived as a liberal bias in the American media."


Franken worked as a comedy writer in the 1970s and has appeared frequently on "Saturday Night Live."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... a_fox_dc_3

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Postby lukpac » Sun Aug 17, 2003 8:22 am

It isn't clear exactly what Fox is trying to do here. Obviously some of the claims in the lawsuit are totally outlandish (calling him unfunny, etc), and all of this is giving Al's book more and more publicity.

Assuming Fox wins (which I doubt), I can see the new title clearly: "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Balanced and Fair Look at the Right."

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Postby mikenycLI » Sun Aug 17, 2003 8:39 am

Well, for starters, it's ALOT of free publicity, isnt it ?

Like they say, just spell the name right !

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Postby seth » Sun Aug 17, 2003 10:53 pm

I haven't seen the complaint yet, but one weird thing is Fox filed the suit in NY state court. Normally trademark suits based on federal trademark registrations (which Fox has) are filed in U.S. District Court. Maybe Fox realizes a federal judge would laugh them out of court immediately, and/or maybe Fox is using the Spike Lee strategy (Spike won a few rounds in state court in his truly bogus tradsemark case against Spike TV in NY state court).

Seth

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Postby lukpac » Fri Aug 22, 2003 5:19 pm

Fox lose over Franken's 'Lies' book

From Phil Hirschkorn
CNN

NEW YORK (CNN) --A federal judge, saying, "This is an easy case," Friday ruled against Fox News in its lawsuit asserting that a new book by liberal satirist Al Franken violates their trademarked slogan, "fair and balanced."

Fox was seeking an injunction to halt distribution of Franken's book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right."

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin, after listening to about half an hour of oral arguments, said the lawsuit was "wholly without merit, both factually and legally."

The 377-page book, which originally had a late September publishing date, went on sale Thursday.

Fox objected especially to its cover, which displays the "fair and balanced" phrase in its subtitle and an unflattering photograph of the news channel's most popular anchor, Bill O'Reilly. It argued that the cover layout "is likely to cause confusion among consumers as to the origin and sponsorship of the book."

But the judge disagreed. "There is no likelihood of confusion as to the origin and sponsorship of the book ... or that consumers will be misled that Fox or Mr. O'Reilly are sponsors of the book," he said.

As for the trademarked phrase itself, Chin said that it was "unlikely a valid trademark. ... The mark is a weak one as trademarks go."

Along with O'Reilly, still frames on the book's cover also show President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and conservative commentator Ann Coulter in separate TV monitors, around the title's first word, "Lies."

Fox alleged the cover also tarnished it by association with defendant Franken.

Though Franken has appeared as a Fox News Channel guest at least 10 times in the past five years, according to Fox, he is not affiliated with the network, which, in court papers, called his commentary "not good enough to be endorsed by Fox News."

Franken, who won four Emmy awards for his work on "Saturday Night Live," is the author of four previous books, including the recent best seller, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot."

Presale orders of "Lies" drove it to the top sales position at the online bookseller Amazon.com.

Fox said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted it a trademark for "fair and balanced" in December 1998, two years after the cable channel's launch.

Fox alleged Franken and his publisher, Dutton, a member of Penguin Group, "seek to trade off FNC's and O'Reilly's reputation and credibility to sell a book that is neither endorsed or sponsored by them" and that the cover layout "is likely to cause confusion among consumers as to the origin and sponsorship of the book."

On the contrary, Franken's attorneys said, there is no evidence of confusion, and the "raucous" title makes it obvious that the subtitle "should be taken with a grain (or two) of salt."

Franken's attorneys said the title is a parody "hoisting Fox (and O'Reilly) by their fair and balanced petard" with a "tongue-in-cheek use" of the trademarked term that "leaves no question that the book is critical of Fox."

For example, one chapter is called "The Chapter on Fox: They Distort, We Deride or We Retort, They Have Lied or They Purport, We Decry or They Are Short, We Have Plied or Smorty Smort, Blort Deblort."

Franken describes Fox News Channel as "obviously slanted to the right" and its chairman, former Nixon-Reagan-Bush strategist Roger Ailes, "a cynical Republican ideologue with no regard for fairness and balance."

Another chapter focused on O'Reilly is subtitled, "Lying, Splotchy Bully."

Franken's attorneys say, trademark or not, the phrase "fair and balanced" is as old as journalism itself, a principle taught in journalism classes and "common vocabulary of the news media dating back well before Fox even existed."

In addition, Franken's attorneys say, the Fox motion is too late, since books are already in stores.

The network first learned of the book cover at a book fair in May but did not seek court action for 10 weeks.

"Fox has ... sat on its supposed rights for too long," the author's attorneys say in court papers. "Fox has simply failed to act with the promptness required of a litigant seeking the extraordinary relief demanded here."

Franken's publisher has shipped 270,000 copies to stores and has ordered a second printing of 50,000 copies, said spokeswoman Lisa Johnson.