US court refuses to grant Beyoncé injunction request
US singer Beyoncé was yesterday denied a permanent injunction after suing an online clothing company for trademark infringement.
Beyoncé owns trademarks for her name and variations of it, including ‘Beyoncé’ and ‘Beyoncé Rise’.
In February 2016, the singer sent a cease-and-desist letter to Andre Maurice and Leana Lopez, who run a Texas-based company called Feyoncé, asking them to stop using the name.
After receiving no response, Beyoncé filed a trademark infringement complaint at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, attempting to stop Feyoncé from selling mugs, t-shirts and hoodies that she claimed infringed her trademarks.
In March 2016, the US Patent and Trademark Office refused to register the trademark ‘Feyoncé’, although products bearing the name are still available online.
The award-winning singer said that the products would confuse consumers into thinking that they are connected to her.
According to the lawsuit, one of the items for sale is a mug that displays the words “He put a ring on it”. Beyoncé’s 2008 song “Single Ladies” contains the lyrics “’Cause if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it”.
However, yesterday, October 1, the district court said that although the marks are similar in terms of text, font and pronunciation, they have different connotations.
The court said that by replacing the ‘B’ with an ‘F’ at the beginning of the singer’s name, the defendants have created a word that sounds like “fiancé”.
“As a result, Feyoncé is a play on words, which could dispel consumer confusion that might otherwise arise due to its facial similarity to the Beyoncé mark.”
The court added that consumers who are looking to purchase Beyoncé products are unlikely to accidentally buy Feyoncé goods instead.
In addition, the court said that evidence indicates that many of Feyoncé’s consumers are engaged, suggesting that they understand the pun instead of confusing the names.
As a result, the court ruled that no trademark infringement occurred.
Beyoncé’s claims of unfair competition and trademark dilution were also denied.
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