'Better Call Saul' creators beat Liberty Tax's defamation, trademark lawsuit

AMC Global Media

25/09/2023 20:00

By Jonathan Stempel
       NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Better call this: Case
dismissed.
    The creators of the hit crime drama "Better Call Saul" on
Monday won the dismissal of a defamation and trademark
infringement lawsuit by Liberty Tax Service for depicting a
shady fictional tax firm that appeared to resemble its own.
    U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan ruled in
favor of AMC Networks  AMCX.O  and Sony Pictures Television
 6758.T  over the depiction of "Sweet Liberty Tax Services" in
an April 2022 episode.
    Gardephe said Liberty Tax offered no "particularly
compelling" allegations that viewers would be confused into
thinking Sweet Liberty was one of its more than 2,500 offices.
    "Better Call Saul" starred Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman, a
corrupt lawyer also known as Jimmy McGill.
    The disputed episode "Carrot and Stick" showed Sweet Liberty
in a trailer in the New Mexico desert, using an inflatable
Statute of Liberty and American flag motif, and run by former
Goodman clients Craig and Betsy Kettleman to skim tax refunds.
    In a 30-page decision, Gardephe said that to the extent the
defendants used Liberty Tax's trademarks, it was to advance the
plot, not for marketing purposes or to disparage the Virginia
Beach, Virginia-based company.
    "The Kettlemans' use of plaintiff's trade dress is a gaudy
and shabby appropriation of patriotic imagery that highlights
their hypocrisy and the tawdry nature of their crimes, all of
which has genuine relevance to  the  story," the judge wrote.
    Gardephe distinguished the case from hip-hop duo Outkast's
use as a "marketing tool" of civil rights activist Rosa Parks'
name to title a 1998 song that had nothing to do with her.
    An appeals court revived Parks' trademark claim, and the
case later settled.
    Peter Siachos, a lawyer for Liberty Tax, said his client
will explore its legal options, including an appeal or refiling
the lawsuit in a state court.
    AMC's and Sony's lawyers did not immediately respond to
requests for comment. Both said their use of Sweet Liberty was
protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
    "Better Call Saul" was a prequel to the series "Breaking
Bad." It ran for six seasons, ending in August 2022.
    The case is JTX Tax LLC v AMC Networks Inc, U.S. District
Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-06526.

 (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Rami
Ayyub)
 ((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6317; Reuters
Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))