Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Sued

According to CNN, the Rock and Hall of Fame doesn't care for the Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here are the details (inluding the silly opener):

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is all shook up -- or as they might say in Yiddish, all "verklempt" (upset) -- over the name for a virtual museum celebrating the Jewish contribution to rock music. The Cleveland-based museum has asked a federal judge to stop two journalists and a radio company executive from putting up a Web site called the Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, saying the site will infringe on the original's trademark name and that the public would confuse the two.

But the people behind the Web site said they cannot understand why the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame is making such a big deal over their plans to celebrate the exploits of such diverse talents as Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, some of the Ramones, Lou Reed and Elvis Presley's tailor, "Nudie" Cohen.

...Regan Fay, a lawyer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which has attracted 5.5 million visitors since opening in 1995, said calling something the Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was going to confuse people.

"I don't think people would know the difference (between the two). We have a lot of Jewish rock and rollers in the Hall of Fame. ... It's like saying the Jewish Oscars or the Jewish Football Hall of Fame," he said.

"It is a well-known trademark principal that putting your name in front of another name is a trademark infringement, like you can't call something a Jewish McDonald's because then people would think it is McDonald's that is kosher," he added.
--------
I know exactly how they feel. A lot of people confused my site with the "Greek-Cypriot Advanced Theory Blog" until I had it shut down.

1 comment:

Wayne Smallman said...

Presumably, someone running a website and / or a museum simply entitled: 'Hall of Fame' could sue the lot of 'em?

Madness.

What would that be in Yiddish?