Lionsgate Sues Over Bootleg Dirty Dancing T-shirts
If you’re a fan of ironic t-shirts with witty pop culture slogans, the world just got a little bit less hospitable for you. Lionsgate Films have launched a strange lawsuit last week over the sale of t-shirts and merchandise related to the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. Specifically, the memorable quote “Nobody puts baby in a corner”, seems to be the one causing all the trouble. Apparently it’s a rather popular slogan for people making bootleg t-shirts and selling them online. Lionsgate is claiming that 15 different companies are currently using their registered trademark without permission. While there’s no debating the fact that these companies are indeed profiting from their property without paying to license it, I have to wonder how much money there really is in Dirty Dancing merchandise. How can Lionsgate possibly be this hard up for cash? Either way, if they win the suit it could open the doors for other studios to embark on similar lawsuits. Next in line: Vote For Pedro shirts!
Comments (2)
Hey, Jay –
Just an interesting correction (that makes the plot a little thicker)
– Lion’s Gate hasn’t ever registered the trademark. They’re just claiming it.
Check out http://www.popwink.com/?p=840
God help us if Vote for Pedro goes down the tubes. The whole internet t-shirt economy will collapse.
Posted by Mark on August 24th, 2007Vote For Pedro was licensed to a variety of manufacturers by the group that made NapDynamite.
Posted by doh on August 26th, 2007Leave a Reply