Judge Changes Channels On Spike TV Case
The saga of Spike vs. Spike continues: New York State Supreme Court judge Walter Tolub on Monday proposed a July 7 non-jury trial exclusively to weigh whether average viewers would identify Spike TV, the planned new name for Viacom's TNN, with director Spike Lee, who contends they would and has sued to stop use of the name. Viacom immediately agreed to the trial, and Lee has until today to do so. If he doesn't, a jury trial would be held later this summer. (USA TODAY)
Spike Lee Must Post $2.5M Bond In Lawsuit
NEW YORK (AP) - Spike Lee, who's suing to stop Viacom International from renaming its TNN cable channel as "Spike TV," must post a $2.5 million bond to cover the media giant's costs if it wins the case, a Manhattan judge said.
Lee had posted a $500,000 bond June 13 after winning a temporary injunction against Viacom's plan to rename TNN. State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub gave him until Thursday to post the additional $2 million.
The 46-year-old director of films including Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing got the injunction after claiming that Viacom, owner of the CBS network, MTV and Showtime, was renaming TNN in a deliberate attempt to hijack his name, image and reputation.
On Tuesday, the judge revised the amount of Lee's bond after hearing testimony from TNN vice president Kevin Kay that the network had lost millions of dollars since the injunction and could lose millions more before the case goes to trial Aug. 18.
Well, it is a trademark suit of sorts, though it has no political overtones or parody implications. I think it's just a matter of Spike Lee being egotistical enough to think that he has a permanent right to use the name "Spike" in any form whatsoever, which has come as quite a surprise to the children of Spike Milligan and to director Spike Jonze.
I can't imagine Lee winning that case in the end. There's not a whole lot of crossover between fans of Spike Lee movies and fans of the WWE.