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Shawne Merriman Vs Stuffed Bear Research Paper

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Shawne Merriman vs the Stuffed Bear The power of comedy is that it takes contemporary issues and stretches them to the extreme and then puts the exaggerated picture of who we are as a society back in our faces. Back a while ago, comedian great Mike Myers played Pitka in the movie flop "The Love Guru". During a number of scenes, Pitka would make comments, realize that they were catchy, and then quickly tack on and little "TM" to his statement. The idea was that he was trademarking everything clever that he said. Ridiculous? That's why it's comedy. And, yet...since comedy is an exaggeration of everyday life, does that mean there are people who actually go around doing things like that? Meet Shawne Merriman. Yes, the very same Shawne Merriman …show more content…

His opponent: The Vermont Teddy Bear Company. The company produces a line of bears with the word "Lights" on the bottom of one foot, and the word "Out" on the bottom of his other foot. Merriman wants $2 million for "trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false endorsement right of publicity". Will Merriman get his sack or will the referees throw out the yellow flag? In this case, it may actually be a coaches red challenge flag. While Merriman does have a trademark on the words, a trademark does not mean that nobody can say or use them, it simply means that nobody can use those words to compete against him in his marketplace or create confusion that would lead to somebody believing that he endorsed their product. What are the chances that anybody buying a Vermont Teddy Bear Company bear is going to see the words "Lights Out" on the bottom of the bear's feet and say, "Hey, look, Shawne Merriman endorses this product."? Exactly. This isn't the first time Merriman has gone to court over the words, however. He is still in court over a 2014 run-in with Nike who used the words to market their goods. In that case, Nike actually knew about the trademark and used it anyway. The case still has not been

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