DISH Network has its hands full with plenty of legal action hounding the satellite television provider. From TiVO’s patent infringement suit to the NFL Network carriage dispute, DISH is certainly spending plenty of time in the courtroom.
DISH Network’s latest legal foray though was company initiated. No doubt you have seen or heard Frank Caliendo selling DISH Network over the past few weeks. Caliendo’s dead on impressions of George W. Bush and John Madden have launched him into the national spotlight and garnered him a sketch comedy show entitled “Frank TV.”
But some celebrities, namely Charles Barkley and Mr. Madden himself, have taken issue with the DISH Network ads. Representatives for the men have threatened DISH with legal action, saying the impersonations could violate trademark or privacy rights.
DISH took the legal initiative in this one, and fired off a preemptive shot. In a filing with the US District Court for
“Mr. Caliendo’s parodies and caricatures of Mr. Madden and Mr. Barkley do not create any likelihood of confusion, or suggest or imply that Mr. Madden or Mr. Barkley sponsor or promote Dish Network,”
Sounds like a logical and straightforward argument. But the court system is rarely logical and straightforward. The first court date is scheduled for April 9th in
