NEW YORK (AP) – Lawyers for television network TNN filed court papers Monday by Spike Jones Jr., son of the legendary music satirist, saying it is “frightening” that filmmaker Spike Lee is trying to claim exclusive ownership of the name “Spike.” Lee won a court injunction June 13 that stopped Viacom, the nation’s third-biggest media company, from changing TNN’s name to Spike TV on June 16 as planned. Lee, who directed “Malcolm X” and “Do the Right Thing,” claimed the rebranding was an attempt to hijack his name and reputation.
Jones said in court papers that he and his family own the rights to the name, likeness, recorded performances and television shows that belonged to his father, the 1940s and ‘50s bandleader. “I do not believe that Spike Lee ‘owns’ or has any individual right to the use of the name ‘Spike’ or as an individual to prevent its use by others any more than I do,” Jones said. Jones’ father had hits with the songs “Yes, We have No Bananas,” “Der Fuehrer’s Face” and “Don’t Hit Your Grandma With a Shovel.”
You know, all of this is ridiculous. Is Spike Lee going to sue Spike Jonze, the director? Or maybe Spike Dudley, the WWE wrestler?
Does this mean any old guy named “Ed” can sue NBC for naming a show after them? Or how about Martha Stewart? I wonder if there’s some poor, crazed housewife out there wishing her name wasn’t slapped across hundreds of products at K-Mart.
For crying out loud, Spike Lee’s name isn’t even Spike Lee! It’s Shelton Jackson! Nowhere close to Spike Lee! (Granted, it’s not as weird as going from Jerry Dorsey to Englebert Humperdinck, but still!) Arrgh!
He didn’t win the case. An injunction is not a final decision (unless it’s made permanent). An injunction is issued when one party to the case could suffer immediate and irreparable harm if the other party is permitted to perform some act. In this instance, Lee is arguing that TNN’s changing its name to Spike TV would cause him some sort of harm and the court bought into the argument enough to prevent TNN from making the name change before a hearing on the merits.
IANAL etc. and this is a probably over-simplified explanation.
No, Spike Lee hasn’t won the case. At least, not yet.
Legally, what Lee has won so far is “just” a preliminary injunction, not a final injunction. A preliminary injunction means that the court is going to hold the Defendant TNN (or whatever its corporate name is) to the status quo until the case is finalized. The Court is saying that if Lee has a case, and TNN is allowed to go ahead and change its name to Spike-TV right now, that Lee might possibly be irrreparably damaged. To avoid that potential irreparable damage, the court is going to in effect hit TNN with a phaser stun to temporarily keep it from changing the name, pending final resolution of the case.
Spike Lee has done TNN a tremendous favor. By filing his ridiculous suit, he’s focused attention on what would otherwise be a non-event. People are actually discussing TNN. You can’t buy that kind of publicity.
Plus, it keeps Spike Lee’s name in the papers. What was his latest movie? Anybody remember? This provides Spike Lee with the attention he has so obviously always craved.
25th Hour, actually. Lee probably wants to win damages or get a massive settlement to pay for those expensive courtside Knicks tickets.
And the Milligan was born Terence Allen Patrick Sean Milligan. Now if Viacom wanted to change TNN’s name to “Puckoon TV”, I could see how the Milligan Estate might have a case.
Now if someone name “The New” would just come out of the woodwork and get an injunction against the use of the slogan “The new TNN” we could have some real absurdist fun as TNN tried to advertise their change without actually drawing a attention to it.
I cannot wait until Mutant Enemy gets invovled in this. Especially since TNN said at one point (and I can’t find the damned article) that they took many things into consideration when choosing their new name—including other famous or cool Spikes, like the vampre on BtVS.
I’m sorry but I think the man kinda has a point. We wouldn’t be having this thread if somebody created “The Cher Channel” or “Hitchcock TV”
Seriously if you saw a headline that read, “Spike Speaks Out About Trend.” Would you have any doubt about who or what was doing the talking? Well the day after that station goes live you won’t know without reading the story.
Sorry, Sheldon isn’t that big a star. If i saw that headline, my reaction would be “Who the fuck is Spike?”, not “Gee, I wonder what a washed up, second rate movie producer has to say”.
When I put in my home bar, my former roommate gave me a little metal dog sculpture. He’s all welded to look like a literal “junkyard dog,” and his butt lifts up so you can put a tea candle inside. The name on his tag is Spike.
Therefore, in my house, if I thought Spike was speaking out, that means I’ve gotta cut back on the Reposado. I’ve seen a few of Spike Lee’s movies but he’s just not the first one I think of when I hear the name. Or even the second for that matter.
“In my house” just about says it. Wolfgrrl. It’s Spike Lee’s point, too.
In my house, among my friends, in the circle of people with whom I associate, if the name “Spike” is said, we tend to think of Sheldon Lee.
I think Lee has a point and that TNN would indirectly benefit from the use of his name. I hope he wins his VERY expensive injunction against TNN (the judge in the case ordered Lee to set aside $500,000 in case TNN wins.). I think its a hoot that Spike would go to such lengths to protect his name.
Cuz, let’s face it – “SPIKE” is a stooopid name for a men’s cable channel.
As for who thinks of Spike Lee when you hear “Spike” – well, the question is arguably moot on a personal level – but just for shits and giggles, Google ‘Spike’ some time. The FIRST category is for the celebrity who’s suing TNN. The second category is for the other filmmaker. The first category is also 10 times bigger.
Let’s see: My first instinct would be “Jones” the band leader, then “Jonez” the director, then The album by Elvis Costello, then the seasoning mix sold next to Mrs. Dash, then the character in Degrassi Jr. High, then the character in Buffy (a show I’ve never even seen,) then the fact that my nickname in HS was “Spike,” then railway spikes, then spiked punch at a 1950’s prom and maybe THEN it would occur to me that they were talking about Spike Lee. Oddly enough, I wouldn’t think of Spike Jones Jr, even though I do know of him.
I’ve just been debating about what to name my new bowling ball, and have now decided on: SPIKE. Come & get me Mr. Lee!
In other news, Spike Lee is being sued by attorney F. Lee Bailey on behalf of his clients Michele Lee, Lee J. Cobb, Lee Horsley, John Lee Hooker, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ruta Lee, Tommy Lee Jones, Lee Meredith, Brandon Lee, Brenda Lee, Kathie Lee Gifford, Lee Grant, Ang Lee, and the estates of Bonnie Lee Bakley, Peggy Lee, Pinky Lee, Lee Tracy, Gypsy Rose Lee, Lila Lee, and Lee Remick.
Exactly my point, Askia. What the name means in my house and in your house are two different things - and based on what a lot of other people are saying, Spike Lee is NOT what most people think of when they hear the word Spike. Someone who’s a big fan of Spike Lee will, sure. Since he’s not as big as he used to be, most people won’t, and I don’t know that he would be even at the height of his popularity. Since Lee’s given name was not Spike, one could pretty easily make the case that he took it because HE wanted to be associated with the image that name already conjured up in most people’s minds, just as TNN is doing. If a handful of people make that association, it’s not the same as saying a majority will. If you say the word ‘beetle’ to a random sampling of people, some of them will think VW, some will think creepy-crawly, some will think of the Beatles. Should VW sue Paul McCartney, as the richest surviving member of a group whose name sounded like their popular car? Should naturalists sue the whole lot of them? Where do you draw the line because one relatively small group of people makes a certain association?
Sting lost a lawsuit against someone who registered a website in that name a while back based on the same premise. It’s a common word that most people in the world do not associate with him, though I’d wager he’s a lot better known than Spike Lee. Also, being something he chose to call himself as opposed to his ‘real’ name, the court found it’s not the same thing as if the website in question was called gordonsumner.com, which distinctly refers to an individual. I would hope the same will be true in this case.
