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Case1:10-cv-05539-VM
Document1
Filed07/21/2010
Pageof52
UNITEDSTATESDISTRICTCOURT
SOUTHERNDISTRICTOFNEW_,.11:.
IhihkRiko
NAKEDCOWBOY
D/B/ANAKEDCOWBOYENTERPRISES
Plaintiff,
ay5539
CaseNo.:
8Ple
SANDRABRODSKY
Judge:
A/K/ASANDYKANE
Defendant.
COMPLAINTFORTRADEMARKINFRINGEMENT,UI
FALSEDESCRIPTION,FALSEADVERTISING,PASSINGOFF,DILUTIONOF
FAMOUSTRADEMARK,FRAUD,DECEPTIVEACTSANDPRACTICES
ANDINJURYTOBUSINESSREPUTATION.
DEMANDFORJURYTRIAL
PlaintiffRobertJohnBurcka/k/a"NakedCowboy",SoleProprietorofNaked
CowboyEnterprises(hereinafter"NakedCowboy"or"Plaintiff'),byhisattorneys,Koehler
&
Isaacs,LLP.,byJoeyJackson,Esq.,asandfortheirComplaint
againstDefendant,Sandra
Brodskya/k/aSandyKaneandorthe"NakedCowgirl"(hereinafter"Sandy
Kane"or
"Defendant"),allegesasfollows:
I.JURISDICTIONANDVENUE
1)ThisisanactionforTrademarkInfringementundertheLanham
Act,15U.S.C.
1051etseq.;15U.S.C.
1114(a);UnfairCompetition,PassingOff,FalseAdvertisingandFalse
DesignationofOriginundertheLanhamAct,15U.S.C.
1125(a);andDilutionofa-Famous
MarkundertheLanhamAct,15U.S.C.
1125(c)oftheNakedCowboy'sWorld-Famous
TrademarkinadditiontoFraudunderNewYorkState(N.Y.S.)Law,
specificallyDeceptiveActs
andPracticesunderN.Y.S.BusinessLaw§349;FalseAdvertisingUnlawfulunder N.Y.S.Law
§350;andInjurytoBusinessReputationpursuanttoN.Y.S.BusinessLaw
§360-1.
2)ThisCourthasoriginalsubjectmatterjurisdictionoverthisaction
pursuantto28
U.S.C.1338(a)and15 U.S.C.
1121.PersonalJurisdictioninthisDistrictisproperinasmuch
astheDefendantconductsandsolicitsbusinesshere,andmaintainsher
principalresidence
and/orplaceofbusinesshere.ThisCourthasrelatedclaimjurisdiction
overthestatelawclaim
pursuantto28U.S.C.
1338(b)and28U.S.C.
1367.
3)ThisCourthaspersonaljurisdictionovertheDefendantbecauseshe
maintainsher
principalplaceofbusinessintheStateofNewYorkand/or
resideshere.
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4)VenueisproperinthisDistrictunder28U.S.C.§1391(b)
becausesubstantialpartof
theevents
omissionsgivingrisetotheclaimsoccurredinthisDistrict,and
thedefendant
eitherresidesinand/ormaintainsherprincipalplaceofbusinessin
thisDistrict.
II.THEPARTIES
5)NakedCowboyisandatalltimesmentionedhereinwas,
aSoleProprietorshipD/BIA
NakedCowboyEnterprisesorganized,existing,andoperatingunderthelawsof
Tennessee,
havingaprincipalplaceofbusinessat1431FinnlandDrive,Nashville
TN37207.See,ExhibitA
(BusinessLicense).
6)Uponinformationandbelief,Defendantwasandisacitizen
oftheUnitedStates
seekingtoprofit,capitalize,andmakealivingfrom,theintellectual
propertyoftheNaked
Cowboy.
III.FACTUALBACKGROUND
7)Some13yearsago,towit,in1997,NakedCowboy
developedaconceptthathas
resonatedwiththepublicinaprofoundway.Inshort,the
ideainwhichhepioneeredhasmade
himapartoftheNewYorkculturaldynamic—asheis
observed,enjoyed,andappreciatedby
nativeNewYorkersandtouristsfromaroundtheworldalike.
8)Theidea,sawhimdressupin:briefs;cowboyboots;
acowboyhat;andguitarsoasto
sing,speakwith,andtomeetandgreetthepublicin
NewYorkCity'sTimesSquare.
Essentially,hedressesasacowboy—only avirtuallyNakedone.
9)Theideathen,asnow,isunique,original,andauthentic.
Heisapioneerwhohasfor
manyyears,spreadlove,cheer,goodhumor,andfellowshipthroughoutNew
Yorkandindeed
theworld—puttingasmileonmanyaface.
10)WhetherpeoplearetouristsfromaroundtheglobeorNative
NewYorkers,hehas
charmedthem,entertainedthem,andcaptivatedthem,withhisguitar,good
nature,personality,
smile,andgentleapproach.NakedCowboyalsoperformsinTimesSquare
forNYCandThe
TimesSquareAllianceaspartoftheirongoingseries"GratePerformances"
whichareorganized
streetperformancestoentertaintouristsandvisitorsinTimesSquare.
11)Sincetheinceptionoftheconcept,hehastakenhis
actontheroad,wellbeyondthe
Citythatneversleeps—appearingthroughoutthecountryandindeed theworld.Hehas
additionallyappearedontelevision,inmovies,theradio,magazines,newspapers,and
avarietyof
othermediums.
12)TheNakedCowboyhasbuilthisconceptintoabrand
whichenjoysbothdomestic
andinternationalrecognitionandgoodwill.Thepublic,uponwhomhe
dependsforhis
livelihoodhavecom etosupportandappreciatehisbrandina
waythathasmadehimenormously
successfulandpopular.
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13)AlookattheNakedCowboy'sbiographyshowspersondriven
tosucceedby
bringinghistalentstomultiple
tocaptivatetheattentionandimaginationof
audiencesinNewYorkandthroughouttheglobe.See,ExhibitB
(NakedCowboyBiography).
14)Infact,theNakedCowboy's"TrailofEvents"is
indicationthathehasworked
tirelesslyandleft
stoneunturnedinhiseffortstopopularizehisbrandandto
builditintothe
successfulempirethatitistoday.Hehasindeedhadan
enorm ousamountofpublicexposure.
Onewouldonlyneedtogotohiswebsitetoexamine
thevenuesinwhichhehasperformedto
havethisconfirmed.See,websitehttp://www.nakedcowboy.com/trailofevents.html.
15)Soastoprotecttheintegrityandproprietyofhis
brand,theNakedCowboy,filedon
October24th,2000forhisfirsttrademark,whichwasregisteredApril
9th,2002.Itwas
registeredunderregistration2560456andsubsequentlyre-registeredMay25th,2010under
registration3792432.See,ExhibitC(TrademarkRegistration)&ExhibitJ,supra
(138)
16)Asasoleproprietorship,NakedCowboyEnterprisesearnsitsrevenues
onthequality,
strengthandreputationofthebrand—whichmustbekeptintact
andpresentedinthem anner
intended.
17)BasedupontheNakedCowboybrand'srecognitionandrespect,Naked
Cowboyhas
enteredintonum erouscorporatesponsorships,andlicensed merchandiseisavailablefrom
vendorsthroughoutNewYorkCity. NakedCowboy'smerchandise includesT-Shirts,Postcards,
Keychains,ShotGlasses,MusicCDs, Pencils,Photosandm ore.Itisessential
thattheintegrity
andproprietyofthebrandbekeptintact.
18)AdditionallicensedNakedCowboyproductsaredistributedthroughNewYork
Popular&RobinRuth.Anotherofficialendorsement/licenseiswithBlueIsland
ShellfishFarms
distributingNakedCowboyOystersthroughoutNewYorkandbeyond.These premiumoysters
areharvestedfromLongIslandSoundandcanbefoundin
finerestaurantsworldwide.
19)GiventhenatureofthesuccessoftheNakedCowboy
brand,mimickingandother
commercialthreatsassociatedwiththoseattemptingtoprofitoffofthe
imageandlikenessofthe
NakedCowboybrandbecameinevitable.
20)OnoraboutSeptember5th,2006,LuisaHolmlund'seffortsto
trademarkthenameof
"NakedCowgirl"weresummarilyrebuked.Inbeingsorejected,itwas
recognizedthatshe
wouldpollutetheNakedCowboybrandandotherwisecauseconfusionamongst
thegeneral
public.See,ExhibitD(Holmlund'sTrademarkApplication).
21)Inordertoallowotherstoearnalivingwithout
dilutingtheNakedCowboybrandor
otherwisecapitalizeoffofhisunique,preserved,protectedandtrademarkedidea,
hedevelopeda
franchiseagreementforothersseekingtomimichisbrandbyengaging
inactivitiesanalogousto
hisown.See,ExhibitE(FranchiseAgreement).
22)TheFranchiseAgreementsetsouttherules,standards,regulations,guidelines
and
policiesforotherstofollow,therebyensuringtheintegrityof thebrand.
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