Do The Right Thing - Watch SpikeTV!

[FollowThisLogic]

Has anyone heard about this Spike Lee/TNN thing?

Spike Lee decided to file a suit against Viacom, because they're changing TNN's name to "SpikeTV".

SpikeTV. Spike Lee. Get it?



Okay, time for some reality.....

Doesn't Spike Lee have enough fucking money that he doesn't have to file frivolous suits?

Or does he somehow ACTUALLY BELIEVE that they're trying to associate the network with his sorry ass? All it would take is watching one fucking commercial break to realize it has nothing to do with him.

Sometimes I really despise this country. Frivolous suits should be outlawed.

[JimmyBlueEyes]

I equated it with that Elvis Costello Album.. Spike

[HydratedPeach]

I think Spike Dudley has more of an argument than Spike Lee... after all, at least Dudley actually appears on TNN.

[Fieldy]

God bless Spike Lee. I am a huge fan of his now. He screwed over Viacom badly and they deserve it. Viacom spent the last month promoting spike tv for june 16th, today I turn it on and no spike tv just the same TNN. Viacom/ Infinity/ MTV/CBS) must've wasted millions of dollars on advertising. serves them right for firing O and A.

[Flock of Moosen]

This really fucking pisses me off! :fire:
The arrogance of this motherfucker to think it has anything to do with him and to think he owns rights to anything named Spike. Peachy mentioned Spike Dudley and my wife did as well tonight. What's next, Spike Lee decides to sue the WWE over his character?

Maybe he can even go after ABC for daring to call Fonzie's nephew on Happy Days Spike as well. Or what about the vampire Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer? That's obviously stealing from the great Spike Lee too. Hell, while he's at it he can track down that dominatrix chick Spike that used to be a regular on O&A. I'm sure she'd be good for another million.

The sad thing is, like Fieldy said, he may have won. Now during the commercials that were promoting Spike TV they all say the new TNN now. :disappointed:

[Sloats]

I hear the decendants of Spike Jones is going to sue Spike Lee because they are sure Spike Lee's momma did not name him Spike.

[60FeetUnderWater]

This just in...Stern is to sue Spike Lee AND Spike TV...

he claimes he invented the word "spike".

hoo hoo.

[FollowThisLogic]

Originally posted by Flock of Moosen
The sad thing is, like Fieldy said, he may have won. Now during the commercials that were promoting Spike TV they all say the new TNN now. :disappointed:

I don't think that's about winning.... I think the name is just on ice until the suit is settled.

We seriously need a law, that if you're going to sue someone, if you lose, you have to pay their court costs... that'd make douchebags like Spike and the fucking McDonalds coffee lady think twice.

[Flock of Moosen]

Not that this will fix anything, but I just wrote to "the new TNN" using their online feedback form and told them if they did back down and let Spike Lee win without even fighting they are pussies and they helped set an awful lawsuit precedent for years to come.

How much ya wanna bet they don't respond?

[SO]

Finally, a reason to join...

While I agree that something needs to be done about frivolous lawsuits, I don't think this case should be written off without looking a bit deeper into it first. Granted, when I first heard about this, it sounded ridiculous. But rather than rush to pass judgment, I looked deeper.

For one thing, Lee has an existing presence in television production. He may have 'Spike' trademarked as a service mark for television production, not sure. In either case, there IS a 'confusion in marketplace' created by TNN using the name. Two courts have agreed. The key is that it is is USAGE FOR THE SAME OR SIMILAR PURPOSE, so comparisons to Spike Dudley, or Spike on Buffy, or Spike Jones, or Spike the Dog from Tom and Jerry cartoons are invalid. By the same token, if someone were to come up with the brillian idea of a channel showing 24 hour Spelling Bee's, I'm sure Aaron Spelling would have something to say should they decide to name their new network "Spelling TV". Why? Because, again, it could cause confusion in the marketplace, and people tuning in may expect to see 90210 and instead find young Jimmy struggling to spell 'hypocrisy' in front of his 5th grade class, thus souring them to Aaron Spelling's name, indirectly damaging his reputation in the public eye through no fault of his own.

Note that I'm not saying that Spike Lee is right and Viacom is wrong. Just that this case does have some validity, and should be persued. And on a side note, it always amuses me when people bring up the "McDonalds coffee lady" when trying to prove the danger in frivolous lawsuits. Considering the coffee they sold her was not only hot, but near-boiling, caused third degree burns over 6% of her body, and McDonalds knew about problems caused by selling coffee that hot, the lawsuit was absoutely justified. But don't take my word for it, here's a link - http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

Cheers