This week the “Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Committee, Inc. filed a lawsuit claiming defamation of Rep. Ron Paul’s character and unauthorized use of the trademark rights in his name in a political video.
The video, released by Paul advocates and not approved or authorized by Paul, makes personal attacks against fellow Republican presidential nominee Jon Huntsman. With Hunstman dropping out of the race, it’s unlikely Paul’s camp will pursue this litigation much further against defendants they have so far been unable to identify.
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About ipandentertainmentlaw
Tamera Bennett, nicknamed by her clients as the IP quarterback, develops strategies to protect and leverage each client's intellectual property. She works closely with her clients to implement customized brand management programs. Her clients range from rock star to leadership coach and financial guru to custom motorcycle designer.
Prepared with an undergraduate degree in Recording Industry Studies and a law degree from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, Tamera represents clients throughout Texas and Tennessee in entertainment, trademark and copyright law related matters
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January 25th, 2012 at 1:43 pm
The trademark rights in his name, is that another way of saying publicity rights? Didn’t think that public officials could enforce those. Or, has he actually got some kind of trademark registration connected to his name?
January 31st, 2012 at 12:06 am
[...] doubts as to whether Paul’s campaign was the originator of this ad, Paul’s team filed a defamation and trademark lawsuit against the party who uploaded the unauthorized attack [...]
January 31st, 2012 at 10:33 am
Hi Keith, in some ways this claim could be couched as a right of publicity claim. I think the real concern for Paul’s camp is the impression he approved or endorsed the video. He does not have a trademark registration for his name; but even public figures do have some limited remedies available to them for defamation and false association. In this case, they campaign may have just been after the positive publicity the lawsuit would bring, even if they were not planning on pursuing the action.