Monday, December 17, 2007

Let them go wild

Just 10 miles north of Broken Bow, Oklahoma on Highway 259 you'll find a winery owned by three Shady Ladies. Actually Shady Ladies is the name of the company owned by partners Chandra Rickey, Michelle Finch and Rhonda Reed who are now entangled in a legal battle for their brand name. The three owners applied and were granted approval for their business, called Girls Gone Wine, by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office back in February. The Girls Gone Wine brand name is used for their wine business which is a wine tasting room with kick - it's a fun place where you can taste, select, make and bottle your favorite wines for gifts or special occasions.

Now the owner of Girls Gone Wild is claiming that the Shady Ladies clever name is an infringement on their existing trademarked name. While I understand the underlying issue on trademark infringement I do not agree that is applicable in this case because no one would ever confuse a wine business with one focused on filming young women wearing as little as possible. Additionally, the Girls Gone Wine application went through the proper government channels and was open for opposition over 2 months.

Hopefully the federal judge will rule for the ladies to continue operating under their own trademarked name, which would allow the Girls Gone Wild legal team to return to their own legal issues.

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