Tracy Jong

A&E Television Studies Sue for Trademark Infringement over Duck Dynasty Slogan, “My Favorite Color is Camo”

Hard to believe, but even big companies like A&E forget to do trademark clearance searches before they launch new products.  In this case, there was a federally registered mark for “My favorite color’s camo” (emphasis added).  A&E started selling Duck Dynasty merchandise with the phrase, “My favorite color is camo” (emphasis added).  The small company trademark owner sent a cease & desist to A&E, but they ignored it.  The result was a trademark infringement action.  The interesting twist in this case is that the popularity of Duck Dynasty fueled sales.  The problem is that there was a situation of reverse confusion where the actual and original trademark owner was perceived by the public to be the copycat.  At the end of the day, the disgorgement of the profits of A&E (the infringer) will result in a payday for the trademark owner, which is due to the infringer’s popularity and mass merchandising. This is one case where registering a trademark really paid off.