The War over Red Star Records...

April 25, 2002 11:32 AM

The War over Red Star Records... Around since 1977, Red Star Records has released albums by Suicide and the Real Kids along with Richard Hell and the New York Dolls. Now, Heineken has formed its own Red Star Records and is trying to trademark the name, which, if successful would give the beer company more legal right to the name than the original label. Who's going to win this trademark battle? [link via rockbites]
posted by drezdn (8 comments total)

Does this warrant a Heineken Googlebomb?
posted by elvissinatra at 11:40 AM on April 25, 2002

Well, I certainly won't be cracking open any Heinekens any time soon.
posted by sigma7 at 12:00 PM on April 25, 2002

Um

He won. They said they'd stop using "Red Star Records". What's the big deal?

So what if they want to use "Red Star Sounds"? They have a big red star as a trademark, duh.
posted by taumeson at 12:03 PM on April 25, 2002

Heiniken?!? FUCK that shit! PABST! Blue Ribbon!
posted by chuq at 12:49 PM on April 25, 2002

Why not oppose the application through the TTAB? This doesn't make sense to me. It sucks that Heineken would strong arm him. But why not use the avenues available to correct the situation. Certainly money is a factor, but this seems like the kind of thing a non-profit legal organization would be interested in pursuing in a David vs. Goliath kind of way.

He clearly has rights to the name Red Star Records, use matters much more than a tm application, and Red Star Sounds is close enough to be confusing to the consumer.
posted by birgitte at 1:40 PM on April 25, 2002

birgitte is right, use is much more important. These disputes end up being very fact-specific. Establishing that (the senior user) Red Star Records has had customers nation-wide and that the mark has been in continuous use is very important. I hope it works out for the guy. IMHO he deserves to end up on top solely because he put out such great music.
posted by anathema at 2:49 PM on April 25, 2002

He'd have a helluva time proving financial injury. And he's pretty cheeky to call it "callous disregard" considering he never trademarked it himself. That's what the protection is for -- not just the legal protections, but so people can find obscure marks in the database and not use them. I'm glad it worked out for him but he really should know better.
posted by dhartung at 3:21 PM on April 25, 2002

dhartung points out something really important; register your damn marks and save yourself a hassle down the road no matter how small you are. And do it with the PTO, state registration is practically useless. And by all means, please, use the mark.
posted by anathema at 3:36 PM on April 25, 2002