Atlanta-based hip-hop group, Arrested Development, has filed a trademark infringement suit against FOX, Imagine Films Entertainment, Inc. and New World Communications of Atlanta, Inc. for their use of the band’s name as the title for FOX-TV’s new series — “Arrested Development” — which premiered this month.
“Over the past 14 years, the two-time-Grammy-Award-winning band has built a solid reputation in the entertainment industry,” said Todd “Speech” Thomas of Arrested Development, which plans to release a new album entitled “Among the Trees” early next year. “The use of our name by FOX is not only confusing to the public, but also has the potential to significantly dilute what the ‘Arrested Development’ name means to our fans. FOX has no more right to use ‘Arrested Development’ for its show than a band would have to name itself after one of FOX’s sit-coms.”
This type of litigation is not new to FOX. The network was involved in similar high-profile litigation in the early 1990’s, when the band “Living Colour” filed suit and ultimately settled its case against FOX regarding the use of their name for the show “In Living Color.” Earlier this year, FOX sued Al Franken for his use of “Fair and Balanced” in the title of his book that criticized certain FOX on-air personalities.
The law suit was filed on October 16 of this year in metro-Atlanta’s Dekalb County Superior Court and is on an expedited schedule. The band’s legal counsel is Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, www.kilpatrickstockton.com.
