Check out this news story from wpxi in Pittsburg -
http://www.wpxi.com/news/18812939/detail.html
Jimmy Buffett Wants South Side Bar To Shut Down
Posted: 4:33 pm EST February 27, 2009
Updated: 6:23 pm EST February 27, 2009
PITTSBURGH -- A famous performer is involved in a bar battle with a Pittsburgh establishment. Jimmy Buffett's famous song coined the phrase "Wasting Away Again In Margaritaville."
Rich Rizzo and his son Brad said they're still in disbelief over the three page letter from Buffett's lawyers concerning their beloved South Side bar and restaurant. |
Well honestly... what did they expect?
The idea of protecting a copyright is nothing new. Furthermore, it's not simple bullying. The idea of protecting a copyright, first and foremost, is to 1) protect your company's brand from individuals who may create confusion, 2) Control the flow of ideas and products that sport the brand name, and 3) ensure that the creator of the brand is adequately compensated for the time, effort and money that was spent on promoting the brand as a whole.
In this case, it's clear that the owner of the Pittsburg bar has, for some time now, enjoyed the benefit of relying on the good feelings and warm atmosphere that Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville has spent millions of dollars to create and maintain. It's not fair for one business to take a short cut and profit from the advertising efforts of another company. Otherwise, there's nothing stopping me from just renting a small space down the road and opening up my very own Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream parlor, regardless of how well I represent the name. In the short run it may not matter much to Ben & Jerry, but over time, as other ice cream parlors follow suit, confusion would run rampant, Ben & Jerry's would lose money and their image would suffer.
In this case, such a direct misuse of the company trademark, Margaritaville, is as egregious as it gets. The owner of the Pittsburg bar used the exact name of the company - not just a slogan, or a somewhat related reference. I'm at least liberal enough to think that a less confusing moniker may have sufficed, such as "Wasted Away", or "The Gypsie's Palace", or another less direct Buffett reference. The Parrotheads would get it, but the name would still be ambiguous enough as to not slight the Margaritaville company.
Just to be a rebel, I'm going to post the Margaritaville logo, with a link to the real cafe' and store.
 Labels: Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville |
