Mastercard Sues Ralph Nader Over "Priceless Truth" Ad for Alleged Infringement
MasterCard filed suit in U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on August 17, 2000, alleging that a Ralph Nader campaign ad entitled "Priceless Truth" infringed on the firm's trademark and copyright of its credit card advertising campaign.
"Our advertisement is a parody and fair political speech. It does not infringe on the MasterCard trademark or copyright," said Nader. "MasterCard is taking itself a little too seriously and in typical corporate style is trying not only to dominate the credit-card industry through 'dual governance' inside the marketplace, but the arena of free speech and the free flow of creative ideas in the political arena. They should lighten up. They're taking their name 'Master' too seriously. This is America."
Mastercard's suit alleges that the Nader campaign ad's purpose was to "deceive, mislead and confuse consumers and the purchasing public into believing that Ralph Nader and specifically his candidacy is in someway connected with MasterCard...."
"Let me assure MasterCard's executives that the last thing I want consumers to believe is that my campaign is in the business of selling credit cards," said Nader. * * * "It would be hard for anyone to take seriously MasterCard's allegations that some people might be confused that the company is endorsing this campaign-especially when the spot says 'Paid for by the Nader 2000 Primary Committee, Inc.'"
LAWYER'S REFERENCE SERVICE
(Nader Press Release, August 17, 2000.)
More Information Below
The following section includes the full-text, or excerpted portions, of articles on Advertising and the First Amendment which originally appeared in Advertising Compliance Service™:
- Article #1: Advertising and First Amendment: Rudy Giuliani and Bus Ads.
- Article #2: Advertising and First Amendment: Court Rules on Commercial Advertising or Promotion Definition under Lanham Act.
- Article #3: Advertising and the First Amendment: Mastercard Sues Ralph Nader Over Priceless Truth Ad for Alleged Infringement.
- Article #4: Advertising and the First Amendment: Hyperlinks, Mouseover Text and Metatags.
- Article #5: Auto Insurers Attack NY Insurance Law Using First Amendment.
Advertising Law-Related Articles
- "12 Key Advertising-Related Laws You Should Know"
- This article examines 12 key advertising-related laws that you should know about before you review your ads to make sure your ads don't run afoul of these laws.
- "10 Things to Do So Your Ads Comply With Advertising Laws"
- This article discusses 10 key areas you should look at when you're reviewing your advertising to determine whether it's in compliance with advertising law's many requirements.
- "10 Tactics to Use So Your Ads Comply with Advertising Laws"
- This article presents 10 tactics you could use to help your ads comply with the many laws, rules, regulations and guidelines that may affect your advertisements.
- "10 Major Advertising Law-Related Concepts"
- This article is a useful review of 10 key areas you should look at when you're reviewing your advertising to determine whether it's in compliance with the numerous laws, rules, regulations and guidelines that may affect your ads.