By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services/Arizona Business Gazette
So can you call something the “Best of Phoenix”?
Not if you’re doing it commercially, according to the parent company of Phoenix New Times. At least not here in Phoenix. And not in any of the other cities it publishes.
And the company wants a federal judge to see it that way.
Village Voice Media Holdings is suing Yelp, the web site that bills itself as the best place to find the best of everything.
What specifically annoys Village Voice Media is that those who go to the Phoenix page will find its listings of everything from restaurants and nightlife to automotive service and spas to be titled “The Best of Phoenix.” Ditto with Denver, Houston, Seattle and other cities where Village Voice owns papers.
More to the point, attorney Steven Suskin said Village Voice has registered the “service marks” with the phrases “Best of Phoenix,” “Best of Dallas” and so on. And it wants a federal judge to order Yelp to stop using the same phrase.
But there’s more. The lawsuit filed in federal court wants Yelp to tally up the sales and profits it made using that “Best of” phrase and give them over to Village Voice Media. And it is seeking punitive damages equal to three times that amount, whatever it turns out to be.
Continued: http://www.azcentral.com/business/abg/free/20121108village-voice-sues-protect-best-title.html
