October 21, 2022
‘Dunder Mifflin’ Merch at Center of Testy Trademark Lawsuit
NBCUniversal is suing a company for allegedly “fraudulently” obtaining a trademark for the fictional company featured in the popular sitcom The Office. The defendant this week asked for the case to be dismissed.
Branded merchandise for one of pop culture’s most popular fictional companies is at the center of a trademark-infringement lawsuit being battled out in federal court in California.
NBCUniversal has sued Jay Kennette Media Group because the latter has been selling merch with the branding of Dunder Mifflin, the not-real paper business featured in the popular NBC sitcom The Office.
There was movement on the case this week when Jay Kennette Media Group filed a motion asking that NBC’s lawsuit be dismissed.
Among other things, the company argues that it legally obtained trademark rights to “Dunder Mifflin” in 2017. With the trademark, Jay Kennette Media has the right to sell everything from hats and mugs to T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts bearing “Dunder Mifflin,” the legal reasoning goes.
Furthermore, Jay Kennette Media asked the court to dismiss NBCUniversal’s complaint due to the entertainment giant’s “failure to state a claim, lack of personal jurisdiction, the action being time barred by the Doctrine of Laches, and lack of standing.”
A judge has not yet ruled on the motion.
NBCUniversal’s suit asserts that Jay Kennette Media Group “built a business based on registering trademarks belonging to others.” The goal, the suit claims, was to either sell the trademarks back to so-called correct owners and/or to generate sales and profits by retailing merchandise with the marks.
Since Jay Kennette Media Group holds the trademark on “Dunder Mifflin,” NBCUniversal has been unable to obtain from the federal government a valid trademark registration for the name. NBCUniversal says that’s ridiculous, as the fictional company’s name is NBC’s intellectual property.
“Defendants have intentionally and fraudulently registered NBCU’s famous common law trademark for Dunder Mifflin,” the suit asserts.
NBCUniversal wants the court to order Jay Kennette Media Group to stop using the Dunder Mifflin name in all capacities and surrender all merchandise and collateral material bearing the fictional company’s branding. It also wants damages compensation, profits Jay Kennette Media derived from using the trademark, and for the defendant’s trademark for Dunder Mifflin to be canceled.