By Deepa Seetharaman
DETROIT, March 16 (Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC filed a lawsuit against a Detroit-based retailer over the use of the 'Imported from Detroit' tagline, which the automaker featured prominently in a two-minute Super Bowl ad last month.
Chrysler filed the lawsuit late Tuesday in U.S. District Court against Moda Group, LLC, which is the parent company of Pure Detroit, a business that sells Detroit-themed apparel, bags and other items.
In court papers, the automaker said Pure Detroit sold T-shirts and tote bags with the 'Imported' slogan, which amounted to trademark infringement and a 'blatant misappropriation' of the tagline.
Chrysler applied to trademark the slogan for use on clothing, bags and other wearable items in January. An attorney for Pure Detroit said the company did not start selling the T-shirts until after the ad aired in early February.
But the attorney, John VanOphem, said Chrysler cannot trademark the phrase because it is 'merely descriptive.'
'Our position is that Chrysler is trying to claim ownership of something it doesn't have a right to own,' VanOphem said. 'They do not own any exclusive rights to the 'Imported from Detroit' phrase.'
A Pure Detroit store in downtown Detroit was still selling the 'Imported from Detroit' t-shirts and tote bags on Wednesday afternoon. VanOphem declined to say how many shirts the retailer sold, but said it was a 'relatively low' number.
'DAVID v. GOLIATH'
Chrysler said it had spent 'millions of dollars' for the launch of the advertisement during the Super Bowl, the most heavily watched U.S. television event of the year. The ad features performer Eminem driving a Chrysler 200 sedan.
Chrysler said it 'repeatedly attempted' to resolve the matter outside of court, but VanOphem said the company was asking for concessions that would not be possible in court. He declined to specify what was asked.
'It could look like David v. Goliath in the Chrysler lawsuit against Pure Detroit,' Chrysler said on its website on Wednesday. 'However, we do know that we made repeated attempts to work out a non-legal solution with Pure Detroit.'
In the lawsuit, Chrysler said the advertisement helped revive Chrysler's image, after it went through a U.S.-funded bankruptcy in 2009 and was put under the operating control of Fiat SpA.
Chrysler said the commercial also generated a considerable amount of goodwill for the city of Detroit, where a third of all individuals live below the poverty line.
Last week, Chrysler dismissed its social media agency after an employee sent a derisive message on the automaker's Twitter account about Detroit drivers that contained an expletive.
In a blog post after the tweet, Chrysler spokesman Ed Garsten said the company was keen to promote Detroit's image.
'With so much goodwill built up over a very short time, we can't afford to backslide now and jeopardize this progress,' Garsten said.
(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Bernard Orr) Keywords: CHRYSLER/SLOGAN (deepa.seetharaman@thomsonreuters.com; +1 313 967 1903; Reuters Messaging: deepa.seetharaman.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
DETROIT, March 16 (Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC filed a lawsuit against a Detroit-based retailer over the use of the 'Imported from Detroit' tagline, which the automaker featured prominently in a two-minute Super Bowl ad last month.
Chrysler filed the lawsuit late Tuesday in U.S. District Court against Moda Group, LLC, which is the parent company of Pure Detroit, a business that sells Detroit-themed apparel, bags and other items.
In court papers, the automaker said Pure Detroit sold T-shirts and tote bags with the 'Imported' slogan, which amounted to trademark infringement and a 'blatant misappropriation' of the tagline.
Chrysler applied to trademark the slogan for use on clothing, bags and other wearable items in January. An attorney for Pure Detroit said the company did not start selling the T-shirts until after the ad aired in early February.
But the attorney, John VanOphem, said Chrysler cannot trademark the phrase because it is 'merely descriptive.'
'Our position is that Chrysler is trying to claim ownership of something it doesn't have a right to own,' VanOphem said. 'They do not own any exclusive rights to the 'Imported from Detroit' phrase.'
A Pure Detroit store in downtown Detroit was still selling the 'Imported from Detroit' t-shirts and tote bags on Wednesday afternoon. VanOphem declined to say how many shirts the retailer sold, but said it was a 'relatively low' number.
'DAVID v. GOLIATH'
Chrysler said it had spent 'millions of dollars' for the launch of the advertisement during the Super Bowl, the most heavily watched U.S. television event of the year. The ad features performer Eminem driving a Chrysler 200 sedan.
Chrysler said it 'repeatedly attempted' to resolve the matter outside of court, but VanOphem said the company was asking for concessions that would not be possible in court. He declined to specify what was asked.
'It could look like David v. Goliath in the Chrysler lawsuit against Pure Detroit,' Chrysler said on its website on Wednesday. 'However, we do know that we made repeated attempts to work out a non-legal solution with Pure Detroit.'
In the lawsuit, Chrysler said the advertisement helped revive Chrysler's image, after it went through a U.S.-funded bankruptcy in 2009 and was put under the operating control of Fiat SpA.
Chrysler said the commercial also generated a considerable amount of goodwill for the city of Detroit, where a third of all individuals live below the poverty line.
Last week, Chrysler dismissed its social media agency after an employee sent a derisive message on the automaker's Twitter account about Detroit drivers that contained an expletive.
In a blog post after the tweet, Chrysler spokesman Ed Garsten said the company was keen to promote Detroit's image.
'With so much goodwill built up over a very short time, we can't afford to backslide now and jeopardize this progress,' Garsten said.
(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Bernard Orr) Keywords: CHRYSLER/SLOGAN (deepa.seetharaman@thomsonreuters.com; +1 313 967 1903; Reuters Messaging: deepa.seetharaman.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.