Posted on 07/26/2014 5:23:21 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority has filed a lawsuit to get a Florida pizza company to stop using logos similar to Garden State Parkway signs.
The suit, filed this week in federal court in Newark, claims Jersey Boardwalk Pizza is infringing on the authority's service marks with its signage online and at its Tavernier and Florida City, Fla., shops.
(Excerpt) Read more at mobile.philly.com ...
garden state parkway logo doesn’t exactly make my mouth water for pizza. more like gag.
it’s a yellow circle with green lettering and the state imposed in the middle. after that, the similarities end. all wording is different
are the turnpike people trying to claim they have authority over a circle, the colors yellow and green or the image of NJ state?
as far as I can tell, they have no trademark or copyright claims and confusing the products would be exceedingly difficult.
from the story:
—
“Given the very distinct difference in the goods and services offered by our respective clients (yours being a governmental agency providing highway maintenance and travel related services exclusively in the state of New Jersey — ours being a franchisor of pizza restaurants providing the opportunity to provide delicious pizza and Italian food to patrons of its licensed restaurants), there is no plausible likelihood of confusion,” JoyAnn Kenny wrote in response to a cease-and-desist letter sent in April.
The bureaucrat’s veneration for the state knows no limits...
Obviously, they ripped off the logo from the NJ turnpike..
I'm not really sure how someone can get "confusion, mistake or deception as to the source or origin of Defendants' services." between driving on the turnpike and ordering Pizza...
Unless the lawyers think the NJ turnpike makes an awesome Pizza...
We should call the Jersey Turnpike Authority office and order pizza.
The Administrative Offices of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority are located conveniently at 581 Main Street in Woodbridge and is open between the hours of 9:00 a.m. & 5:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday.
New Jersey Turnpike Authority
P.O. Box 5042
Woodbridge, NJ 07095-5042
(732) 750-5300
/johnny
Isn’t it interesting that, in their complaint, the NJ Turnpike Commission isn’t pointing at a copyrite? They are making a rather arcane legal argument and hoping some judge or jury is going to buy into it.
Why don’t they settle with the Pizza Shop owners & then go out an copyrite their logo like they should have done in the first place? Nah! They’d rather muscle them thru the court system. I hope a judge slaps them down.
Wonder if they show the same respect for the US flag - it’s not supposed to be used for advertising, either.
So, someone is somehow going to confuse a pizza place in Florida, with driving on the New Jersey Turnpike???
Is this for real or is this satire???
The defense can argue the state logo is a misrepresentation of reality.
Garden State? Newark? Camden, Fort Lee?
I see no mention of any copyright on the NJ State sign, therefore it is in the public domain and anyone can use it...
There's a pizzaria in West Los Angeles whose logo resembles the old orange and blue New York licence plates. Now, maybe the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles will go after them in federal court.
The real question is: Why would they sue a locally owned store in Florida, thousands of miles from the freakin Garden State Parkway?
All I know is that in the beginning the band was called The Chicago Transit Authority - but they got a letter and changed their name. Records sold like a train on the tracks LOL
The NJ authorities should take it as a compliment and they should realize they are making their own bad PR with all the NJ snowbirds and retirees that reside for all or part of the year in Flordia: which may be the source of what attracted the Pizza chain to their legal marketing ploy.
The NJ authorities should take it as a compliment and they should realize they are making their own bad PR with all the NJ snowbirds and retirees that reside for all or part of the year in Flordia: which may be the source of what attracted the Pizza chain to their legal marketing ploy.
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/NJ_files_lawsuit_over_pizza_shop_logo.html
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