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House of Cards facing trademark claim
Netflix series is at the centre of a trademark battle in the US.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under Streaming
Netflix series House of Cards returned with a new season on Friday but is at the centre of a trademark battle in the US.
Massachusetts-based D2 Holdings says it owns the trademark for House of Cards and wants MRC II Distribution Company to stop using the phrase and destroy any physical or digital materials that bear the mark.
Netflix is not named as a defendant in the suit.
According to the lawsuit, MRC has applied for various House of Cards trademarks on multiple occasions but has been repeatedly rejected by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
D2 claims it has held the “House of Cards” trademark for entertainment goods and services since 2009.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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- Tagged with House Of Cards
7 Responses
Looking forward to watching Yurt Of Cards next year.
The title ‘House of Cards’ has been around for some time as is based on a British TV series, perhaps they should litigate in the UK as well.
MRC tried to get their own dodgie trademark associated with the US TV show, now they will have to challenge D2 Holdings’ dodgie trademark.
House of Cards is a common idiom that goes back nearly 400 years so should never have been granted as a trademark in the first place. Kleenex lost the trademark to Kleenex because their term became an everyday word for tissue in English usage. Here HOC refers to a TV show that is a US adaption of a UK show based on book of the same name. Also merchandising for a popular TV show is not likely to be confused with whatever D2 are merchandising.
You’re trying to apply logic to probably the least logical area of law in a jurisdiction not exactly celebrated for being the bastion of applied logic.
Trademark law isn’t too bad. At least compared to defamation, copyright and patent law.
Oh and this company only now realizes there is a show that is using ‘their’ name? They are unhappy chappies for demanding it all be destroyed. Why not just cash in, if your claims are indeed true. some people.
No, it’s only now that your hearing about it. From other accounts its (a) been going on since 2013, with MRC basically ignoring D2, and (b) came to a head because MRC started licencing HoC merchandise – directly breaching D2’s trademark, which covers gaming & merchandising.