Marvel sued over Avenger's BluRay Case

[cboath]

It's about protecting the dilution of the brand.

Their cases have a very distinct look. That look, through their branding, is very closely tied to the quality of the product. So much so that they have trademarked the look of their cases.

Because of that trademark, they have NO CHOICE but to pursue this.

That's the thing about trademarks. You can risk losing them, or your ability to enforce them in the future, if you don't pursue infringements.

Let's say that they really don't care about or have much of a problem with this particular use of their design. So they ignore it. A year from now, someone starts producing an inferior knock-off and the company wants to sue them. When it goes to court, the fact that they took no action in this current issue can actually harm that future suit. It can be ruled that since they failed to act on a previous infringement, that they have allowed their mark to degenerate and it is no longer enforceable.

Even if they were to lose this suit (not likely), it's the fact that they pursued it that protects their trademark for the future.

That's all true, but nothing says the first line of defense has to be filing suit in court. You can defend it by taking it up with the offender first. If Disney blows the off, then sure sue. But my guess is they went straight to court.

 

[rkpetersen]

Good for Rimowa. I hope they stick to their guns and enforce their right to keep a cheap ripoff replica that would sully their image from being made/sold. But they'll probably settle for a chunk of cash instead.

 

[rkpetersen]

Did you watch Eureka? There was one season where they were getting new cars for the city and Jo went over all the features of some car. Or the episode that was 'sponsored' by a deodorant stick and it was prominently displayed and used in an episode where the town got really hot. I wanted to vomit from the pushing of products. :darnkids

Yeah, that was really annoying. Product placements are distracting and take away from the story. Do these advertisers really think that having an interesting episode grind to a halt so they can push their crap really gets people interested in buying the product? More likely, just the opposite.

 

[Dozer3677]

Actually it was a Nissan Rogue, a brand new model for them. And all in all a pretty nice little grocery getter.

I still stand by the fact that the Versa is awful.

But still, you get my drift, right?? Who does that? Not "That is awesome. I got a new car."

It just seemed so stiff, so forced. "The Nissan ROGUE!!!" It may be a nice car, I was thinking the Versa, not the rogue. But still, no 16 year old girl goes "ZOMG DADDY, YOU GOT ME THE 1999 Chrysler Le Baron!!!" I guess it only applies to cheerleaders who feel no pain. :rolleyes

 

[Zuiun]

That's all true, but nothing says the first line of defense has to be filing suit in court. You can defend it by taking it up with the offender first. If Disney blows the off, then sure sue. But my guess is they went straight to court.

To be fair, there is only news of the suit. We don't really know whether or not the process began with a simple cease and desist.

But it's unlikely that this kind of thing could possibly be settled without some kind of court filing. If it goes to court, Marvel/Disney has liability insurance to cover losses in situations like this. So even if they were approached outside of a lawsuit, it would probably be in their best interest to basically "ignore" it until it goes to court - even if they lose or choose to settle, they get an insurance claim out of it.

 

[Jeyl]

Well, I haven't seen a delay so I guess it's still on.

 

[blockhead]

He whom has the highest paid lawyers will win...money will be thrown about to the "offended" and we will throw down our debit cards for a "limited edition" just to say we got one....it's what we do...which is ok...get what you want to make yourself happy....at least for the moment....ladies do it--why can't us guys? Ha No offense to the female population on the RPF.....just funnin' round eh?

 

[Jeyl]

get what you want to make yourself happy....at least for the moment....ladies do it--why can't us guys? Ha No offense to the female population on the RPF.....just funnin' round eh?

I don't get it. But a settlement seems to be the most likely compromise considering this set hasn't been delayed yet.

 

[Satxer]

I better get my phase one edition blu ray set with case and tesseract...or else...

 

[Kit Rae]

That's the thing about trademarks. You can risk losing them, or your ability to enforce them in the future, if you don't pursue infringements.

Let's say that they really don't care about or have much of a problem with this particular use of their design. So they ignore it. A year from now, someone starts producing an inferior knock-off and the company wants to sue them. When it goes to court, the fact that they took no action in this current issue can actually harm that future suit. It can be ruled that since they failed to act on a previous infringement, that they have allowed their mark to degenerate and it is no longer enforceable.

Even if they were to lose this suit (not likely), it's the fact that they pursued it that protects their trademark for the future.

That's why Fender can't stop anyone from making exact copies of a Stratocaster. They went for so long not enforcing their rights with rampant knockoffs on the market, that when they finally did, the court said they no longer owned that design.

Using the product in a film with permission is one thing, but then trying to make a product to sell using the same design without paying the owners, one that you will be making a lot of money on - that's simply theft.

I have been in several situations like this with my own designs, and you have to protect them and go after people who attempt to rip you off.

 

[coofunkcurly]

I still stand by the fact that the Versa is awful.

But still, you get my drift, right?? Who does that? Not "That is awesome. I got a new car."

It just seemed so stiff, so forced. "The Nissan ROGUE!!!" It may be a nice car, I was thinking the Versa, not the rogue. But still, no 16 year old girl goes "ZOMG DADDY, YOU GOT ME THE 1999 Chrysler Le Baron!!!" I guess it only applies to cheerleaders who feel no pain. :rolleyes

The Versa was mentioned many a time in other episodes. Hiro and Ando rent one to get across the country. Hiro squeals the full name "Nissan Versa" so many times that I still hear it despite having only seen the episodes once.

 

[nlschutd]

my collection is complete my avengers bluray/3d arrived today suitcase whould be cool but only a few subs so that was a no go

 

[allosaur176]

my collection is complete my avengers bluray/3d arrived today suitcase whould be cool but only a few subs so that was a no go

Ya know, you really don't have to post this info in every Avengers thread on the forum, right?

 

[Jeyl]

my collection is complete my avengers bluray/3d arrived today suitcase whould be cool but only a few subs so that was a no go

Only a few subs? What does that mean?

 

[nlschutd]

subtitles all my covers are dutch with dutch subtitles. don't like to have other bluray cases

 

[Eopie Herder]

Amazon has stopped taking orders on it, the page now says "this item is under review and is now not available for pre-order"

Wal-Mart still has it.

 

[allosaur176]

Best Buy still has it up

 

[Eopie Herder]

And now Wal-Mart has stopped allowing orders. Product page is up, but no way to add to cart.

 

[Eopie Herder]

It would appear that the 10 disc case set is now not coming out on Sept. 25th. May be released later. :angry

 

[Solo4114]

That's actually a good thing, in my opinion.

Better to stop taking pre-orders now than risk being unable to fulfill them down the road because of a settlement. Look, either way, you know that SOME boxed set will come out with the 10 discs. Marvel has almost certainly set up the discs for production, so they'll want to get a return on that even if the packaging itself falls through.