Summerfest files federal action to protect its Rock 'n Sole
Summerfest may lose its Rock ‘n Sole to the forces of Rock ‘n’ Roll, in a federal trademark battle being fought over the name of the inaugural run in Milwaukee.
Competitor Group Inc., the company behind the expanding Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon and half-marathon series, initiated the fight through a cease and desist letter that directs Milwaukee World Festival Inc. to drop the Rock ‘n Sole name for the half-marathon and 10K scheduled for July 10.
Competitor owns the trademarks for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and 1/2 marathon titles, and considers the Rock ‘n Sole to be a riff close enough to violate that mark. The name would confuse participants and dilute the Rock ‘n Roll brand, according to the letter sent on March 11.
The element of confusion – whether a runner would think they’re signing on for a Rock ‘n’ Roll run, for example – is a key factor in trademark infringement cases.
Summerfest responded by filing a federal complaint seeking a court order to clear Rock ‘n Sole for its run.
In its filing, Summerfest argues that its Rock ‘n Sole name and logo are sufficiently different to avoid confusion and that its event does not compete in any of Competitor Group’s markets. It plans to put on a race exclusively connected to the music festival, now in its 44th year.
Roughly 2,500 runners have registered, so far, for the half-marathon and 10K races to be run on the Hoan Bridge and Milwaukee lakefront.
Competitor Group, based in San Diego, has expanded to 19 races across the country; but none in Milwaukee or Wisconsin. There have been preliminary talks to bring a Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon to Milwaukee, but no solid proposals have been publicized.
Too close? Here are the logos for the Rock 'n Sole and Rock 'n' Roll races,
from their respective web sites.
18 Comments for "Summerfest files federal action to protect its Rock 'n Sole"
have tried a little harder to to make the logo different. In a world of a million
fonts, those two are pretty darn close.
gtbadger Mar 28, 2011 12:52 PM
Mar 28, 2011 12:59 PM
dk mke Mar 28, 2011 1:04 PM
Finally - they scheduled it on the last weekend. In fact - perhaps they should have put it on July 4th - and keep the grounds open with no main stage acts. Make it a local run with local bands only playing Summerfest. No entry fee - just a local party.
Just some early flags to a great idea for a run.
Yes - I agree that they will lose the trademark battle. Not so much the font, but the sound.
How about: "Hoan Quest, Summerfest Run"
bigchip Mar 28, 2011 1:09 PM
gtbadger Mar 28, 2011 1:20 PM
discerning one run from the other.
mketruth Mar 28, 2011 1:32 PM
Summerfest is a music festival, so the name should be allowed to stay. Competitor doesn't need a Milwaukee run. They're dilluting their own brand.
packerbacker03 Mar 28, 2011 1:43 PM
Milwaukee event falls under the Summerfest moniker and is a play on the
generic Rock N Roll saying, they have a compelling case to keep their
name (although the logo font should be changed, and doesn't help their
cause). If not, a suggestion would be "Rockin the Hoan" Summerfest
Marathon
daedbird Mar 28, 2011 2:43 PM
Mar 28, 2011 3:15 PM
I think Summerfest will prevail.
RedwoodPerch Mar 28, 2011 4:42 PM
The Kernel Mar 28, 2011 7:41 PM
Fred Garvin Mar 29, 2011 6:08 AM
gtbadger Mar 29, 2011 8:53 AM
ffgirl Mar 29, 2011 2:17 PM