Viacom Trademark Row Heads to Appellate Court

Viacom likely didn't intend to trade off the goodwill of the creators of the Guppie Kid clothing line, but the broadcaster's Bubble Guppies children's TV series and branded clothing items are a case of reverse confusion about the source of Guppie Kids, plaintiff appellants Debbie and Dean Rohn said in a brief (in Pacer) Wednesday in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Guppie Kid plaintiffs are challenging a January summary judgment in Viacom's favor dismissing their 2014 lawsuit claiming trademark infringement, false designation of origin and a violation of Michigan unfair competition law. They said the lower court erred when it applied the same legal test of a forward confusion -- an infringer's use of a trademark sowing confusion about the source of a defendant's goods -- to a claim of reverse confusion, when the 6th Circuit has been clear there are different standards for the two. The plaintiffs also said the lower court erred in agreeing with Viacom's argument that Bubble Guppies and Guppie Kid gear were related only in a broad industry, since they both sell hats, jackets, T-shirts and the like. And they said they provided evidence of actual confusion instead of just a likelihood of confusion. "The plaintiffs’ claims are without legal merit," Viacom told us Thursday. "We are confident that the Court of Appeals will affirm the decision of the District Court in Viacom’s favor.”