Dardenne v. MoveOn.org
Citizen Media Law Project 2020-02-13
Summary:
Threat Type:
Party Receiving Legal Threat:
Type of Party:
Date:
Status:
Type of Party:
Disposition:
Location:
Location of Party:
- Louisiana
Jurisdiction:
- Louisiana
Location of Party:
- California
Verdict or Settlement Amount:
Legal Counsel:
Source of Law:
- United States
- Louisiana
Court Name:
Legal Counsel:
Legal Claims:
Court Type:
Case Number:
Relevant Documents:
MoveOn.org is a public policy advocacy group and political action committee. On March 4, 2014, MoveOn.org caused a billboard to be placed along an Interstate Highway in Louisiana. This billboard was meant to draw attention to a political statement directed at the Office of the Governor of Louisiana. The billboard also contained a photograph of a crawfish taken from the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism's ("Department") website.
The Department issued a cease and desist letter claiming that the billboard contained a substantial and colorable imitation of a state service mark created, trademarked and used by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. MoveOn.org then began running a television advertisement that included a photograph of the Billboard and posted a YouTube video of the commercial. Thereafter, Jay Dardenne, in his official capacity as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Louisiana and commissioner of the Department, filed a complaint against MoveOn.org alleging violations of Louisiana and federal trademark laws. Specifically, Dardenne cited violations of:
- La. R.S. 51:222
- La. R.S. 51:223.1
- 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.
Dardenne moved for a preliminary injunction, arguing that the television commercial and YouTube video constituted trademark infringement under Louisiana and federal trademark laws because the imitation of the service marks, together with the photograph taken from the Department's website, was likely to cause confusion or mistake as to the origin of the message of the billboard. Dardenne further asserted that infringement of the service marks by MoveOn.org did not constitute a protected parody claiming that the subject of the billboard, Governor Bobby Jindal, was not the creator of the service marks. Alternatively, Dardenne claimed that MoveOn.org was utilizing more of the service marks than was necessary to achieve its parody so as to suggest affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement of the billboard by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.
In its memorandum in oppo