Companies Getting Tough On Trademark Infringement
Corporations that own the rights to some of the television characters most popular with kids -- Dora the Explorer, Bob the Builder and Hannah Montana, for example -- have been sending cease-and-desist letters, threatening lawsuits and in some cases receiving settlements from companies that market unauthorized character impersonators at venues like kids' birthday parties.
Some companies in the costume industry hire lawyers to advise them on how to stay out of trouble. Others are commissioning costumes that only slightly resemble characters owned by media companies. They have names like "Big Red Tickle Monster," instead of Elmo, and "Explorer Girl with Backpack, "rather than Dora. |
