Posted on 03/19/2022 5:00:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A vineyard marketing wines under the name Purple Rain responded to a lawsuit launched by Prince's estate with an unusual defense.
The matter went legal after Ohio's L'uva Bella Winery was awarded the trademark to the title in 2019. The musician's estate — which is locked in multiple court procedures as a result of his death without a will — claimed "likelihood of confusion" and "false suggestion of a connection" meant the trademark should be canceled.
"The estate protects the intellectual property Prince created during his lifetime, including his image and the trademark 'Purple Rain,' which is strongly associated with him," last year's estate filing read (via Rolling Stone). "'Purple Rain' is Prince's most famous song, album, tour, movie, etc., and there can be no doubt that 'Purple Rain' signifies Prince."
While the estate — led by Comerica Bank, which was appointed to oversee the legal proceedings involving Prince's assets — had asked for the trademark's termination without trial, lawyers for L'uva recently responded with a new argument against it: There can be no confusion because Prince didn't drink alcohol.
"To the extent Prince was famous, he was equally famous for his disdain of alcohol," read the new filing with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. "Prince was a teetotaler who despised alcohol. Prince never lent his name to any product or enterprise during his lifetime, and never endorsed or promoted any products, let alone any products bearing the name 'Purple Rain.' The fans of Prince, knowledgeable about his beliefs and views, would never associate an alcohol-containing product with the artist."
The lawsuit is yet another demonstration of what can go wrong when an artist dies without a will. For now, the Purple Rain wine range remains on sale at $7.99 a bottle, with variants including Tri-Blend, Sangria and the award-winning Concord.
What about Uptown?
Uptown ripple.
That’s his most famous song says I.
You wouldn't call him a juicer. He was more of a Fentanyl and heroin kind of guy. Good to the last breath.
I wonder if the restaurant I had meatloaf at earlier this week owes royalties to Michael Lee Aday.
Pretty much veryone who is claiming to represent his interests are people who never knew him when he was alive and have no family relation.
They're all out for the $$$..
Restaurant meatloaf: Very brave.
No valid claim from whoever represents some guy who was never a price.
My daughter ordered it in a soul food restaurant. It was pretty good. She didn’t finish so of course I did.
Budweiser would've been a better lifestyle choice.
Prince toxicology report shows very high drug level, experts say
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/prince-toxicology-report-shows-very-high-drug-level-experts-say-n860296
US trademark law is a damned mess. Copyright law, even worse. Patent law... probably the worst of all. And way more effort is spent on all of it than ever should have been while China ignores all of it in a multigenerational plan to rule the world. Maybe we get with the program and stop coddling dead celebrities.
The purple wine formerly known for its reign...
No problem. Just toy with spelling and phrasing.
*Purple’s Reign
*Perr-Paul Rayne.
A fine choice if you want to party like it’s 1999.
Earlier I left a retailer because I couldn’t find any spinning fishing reels that weren’t made in china. Online retailers are very coi about where their fishing stuff is made.
Raspberry Sherry.
Sherry! Sherry Baby!
You are not correct.
He died without a will.
He had heirs. Each State decrees how assets will be distributed with no will.
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