The New York-based International Media Films said Lucas’ movie infringes, tarnishes and dilutes its trademark of the Fellini film and it sued Lucas in February for trademark and copyright infringement — charges that will be heard in court in the fall.
In addition to the above claims, IMF requested a preliminary injunction to bar the sale of Lucas’ film, but Koeltl denied the request saying that IMF could not claim irreparable damage because of the five-month lag time between the company learning of Lucas’ film and petitioning the court for injunctive relief.
“The five months from Oct. 2006 to the time the plaintiff first learned of the defendants’ film March 2007, the time the plaintiff finally sought a preliminary injunctive relief, is marred by significant periods of inexcusable delay,” Koeltl said. “As such, even assuming that the plaintiff can make a sufficient showing on the merits…the Court concludes that the plaintiffs delay in seeking preliminary injunctive relief rebuts any presumption of irreparable harm.”
Koeltl also expressed doubt that consumers would confuse the two films because they “move through radically different channels of trade. It thus seems extremely unlikely that a hapless purchaser seeking to buy Fellini’s film will inadvertently stumble across ‘Michael Lucas’s La Dolce Vita.’”
Lucas believes the suit has no merit and was merely a publicity maneuver by IMF.
“From the beginning, this case has been more about anti-gay and anti-sex prejudice than about well-founded legal claims,” Lucas told the Wall Street Journal. “I am thrilled about this ruling and I hope we can now get this whole unnecessary distraction behind us.”