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Keywords

contractlawsuitappealtrademarklease

plaintiff

Related Cases

Oliveira v. Frito-Lay, Inc., 251 F.3d 56, 58 U.S.P.Q.2d 1767, 29 Media L. Rep. 2101

Facts

Recording artist Astrud Gilberto brought a lawsuit against Frito-Lay, Inc. and others, claiming violations of the Lanham Act and state law due to the unauthorized use of her famous recording of 'The Girl from Ipanema' in a television commercial for Baked Lays potato chips. The district court dismissed her claims, concluding that she did not have trademark rights in the recording and that her complaint did not admit to a lack of contract rights regarding the public release of her performance. Gilberto appealed the dismissal.

Issue

Did the district court err in dismissing Gilberto's claims under the Lanham Act and New York state law regarding her right of publicity?

Rule

Analysis

The court found that Gilberto did not possess trademark rights in her recording because the use of her song did not imply an endorsement of the product. Furthermore, the court misinterpreted her complaint regarding contract rights, as it did not clearly state that she had relinquished her rights or placed her recording in the public domain. The court's dismissal of her state law claims was based on an incorrect assumption about her rights.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the dismissal of the Lanham Act claim but vacated the dismissal of the state law claims, remanding them for further proceedings.

Who won?

Frito-Lay, Inc. prevailed in the initial dismissal of Gilberto's claims under the Lanham Act, as the court found no reasonable jury could conclude that the commercial implied her endorsement. However, the court's ruling on the state law claims was vacated, indicating that Gilberto may still pursue those claims in state court.

The district court ruled against dismissing the Lanham Act claim because it was 'not entirely implausible' that plaintiff could prove that the audience might interpret the inclusion of the 1964 Recording in the ad as implying Gilberto's endorsement of Baked Lays.

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