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18 April 2018Trademarks

Barbershop accuses LeBron James of TM infringement

A barbershop in Detroit has accused LeBron James and his multimedia platform Uninterrupted of trademark infringement, in a complaint that said the basketball star “stole” the shop’s concept for a web series.

Adventure Enterprises, which does business as The Social Club Grooming Company, filed the lawsuit at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Monday, April 16.

The Social Club Grooming Company is a barbershop which also functions as a place to socialise. People including athletes, musicians, and business owners use the space as a forum to tell their stories while getting a haircut.

According to the complaint Sebastian Jackson, founder of Adventure Enterprises, came up with the concept of making the barbershop discussions a web series called “Shop Talk” in 2014.

Jackson owns the ‘Shop Talk’ trademark, US number 4,903,080, which was registered in 2016 for the organisation of events for cultural purposes. The complaint said the mark was used as early as 2013.

Between 2014 and 2016 Jackson said he had “numerous discussions” with Uninterrupted executives about his idea, as he sought a potential partnership for “Shop Talk”.

However, after the launch of “Shop Talk”, Adventure Enterprises claimed the concept was “stolen” by Uninterrupted and James. In December 2016 Uninterrupted aired “The Shop” online, which reportedly featured James discussing cultural experiences in a barbershop setting.

The complaint said the web series hosted by Uninterrupted featured Jackson’s ‘Shop Talk’ mark, constituting the “theft and infringement” of Jackson’s IP.

Adventure Enterprises said it originally discovered the infringing webcast via social media, and in June 2017 an episode of “The Shop” was also aired on ESPN during the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. Adventure Enterprises said it has since been “substantially injured in its business”.

The company sent a cease-and-desist letter to Uninterrupted and James. They allegedly denied any wrongdoing and argued that the ‘Shop Talk’ mark is generic and unoriginal, and that regardless, Uninterrupted’s content does not infringe it.

The claim noted that Uninterrupted and James “ironically” sent their own demand letter to the University of Alabama earlier this month. It sought to prevent the institution’s football team from releasing “ Shop Talk”, a series based on former players having a roundtable discussion in a barbershop setting.

According to the letter sent by Uninterrupted and James, multiple instalments of “The Shop” have already been released on Uninterrupted and the university’s “Shop Talk” infringes the “copyright, trademark, and other valuable IP rights” associated with it.

Adventure Enterprises is seeking triple damages for trademark infringement, unfair competition, conversion, unjust enrichment, and false advertising.

On April 3, WIPR  reported that a copyright dispute involving a video game’s depiction of tattoos on NBA players, including James, is set to proceed, after a US court rejected the game maker’s request for judgment.

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