Adventures in Copyright, News, The Business
Why L.A. Triumph Can Sue Madonna Over “Material Girl” Line and Win
By Leah Chernikoff
Late last Thursday, apparel manufacturer L.A. Triumph Inc., filed suit against Madonna, claiming that her “Material Girl” line for Macy’s threatens their own “Material Girl” clothing line that they have been selling since 1997.
L.A. Triumph is hoping a judge will rule that Madonna’s new tween line creates confusion among consumers (“deception in the marketplace” in legalese) and that Madonna should fork over all her “Material Girl” profits to L.A. Triumph.
So how is it that Madonna, the original “Material Girl,” she who sang the song, could be infringing on L.A. Triumph’s trademark?
We checked in with our resident fashion trademark expert, attorney Anne Sterba, of leading intellectual property firm Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, to find out if L.A. Triumph has a leg to stand on.
“The bottom line is that Madonna had a song and has been known as the ‘Material Girl’ but if she hasn’t sold any products under the name ‘Material Girl,’ she has no trademark in the name,” says Sterba. “Madonna has a copyright in the song, but a copyright and a trademark are completely different. L.A. triumph my have priority over her in respect to selling clothes under the “Material Girl” trademark and they could win.”
Sterba thinks Madge will likely file a counterclaim, and could argue that malicious intent on the part of L.A. Triumph, to market their clothes under the “Material Girl” name when the public knows Madonna as the Material Girl.
It should be interesting, to say the least, to watch this all play out.
Tags: L.A. Triumph, Madonna, Material Girl
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This line seems rather mature for tweens….
Thats always been the case w/ Madonna… almost 30 years now. Get over it.
I think her lawyers are going to try to drag the case out until LA Triumph can no longer afford to defend themselves. IDK how but, I mean, what other recourse do they have?
Doubt it will go to trial. This is made to be settled out of court.
I think when it comes down to damages, it will be down to how LA Triumph’s sales on their lines have been affected/ I have never heard of their line, but as it has been trading under it for 17 years, shouldn’t be difficult to determine. I’d be suprised if Macy’s wasn’t already aware of this when the line was launched.
LA Triumph has been marketing this line of clothing for a long time. BUT they chose to use the phrase Material Girl. Would they not have benefited from the attachment to that phrase to begin with? If it weren’t for Madonna they likely wouldn’t have come up with that phrase.
Ever since the 80′s, Madonna has groused about being called the “Material Girl”. Now she wants to have that name used in reference exclusively to her? She’s wackadoodles. Someone put her in a home.