48 Hours to Trademark Lawsuit

Written By Tamera H. Bennett

48 hours to produce the first issue of a magazine. An ambitious goal meet by a few friends and 1000's of content contributors over a weekend in May. 48 Hour:Hustle, a print on-demand magazine, was started on May 7 and issue zero was  wrapped on May 9.  The cease and desist letter from CBS Broadcasting, Inc. was received May 11.  (I calculate 48 hours between release and demand letter...irony).

CBS owns the trademarks for "48 Hours,"  "48 Hours Mystery," and several other similar marks with "48 Hours."  The CBS marks are in Class 041 for a television series.

Would a consumer be confused that a magazine named "48 Hour:Hustle" was from the same source as the television show?  I also wonder if an argument could be made by another trademark owner for likelihood of confusion with their mark:  Hustler.

Tamera H. Bennett

Tamera H. Bennett is a wife, mom, lawyer, mediator, blogger, podcaster, and legal writer. For two decades she’s helped clients protect what they create by practicing trademark, copyright and entertainment law in Texas and Tennessee.

Tamera has co-hosted more than 85 episodes of the Entertainment Law Update Podcast since 2009. And, she’s been honored to write for BILLBOARD magazine and the TEXAS LAWYER.

In the summer of 2015, Tamera backpacked 100 miles over 10 days with her son's Boy Scout Troop. Tamera walked her first half-marathon in 2012 and walked the Cowtown Half Marathon in February 2016 and February 2017 with a PR each time. You can visit Tamera’s blog at createprotect.com and follow her on Twitter @tamerabennett.

http://www.tbennettlaw.com
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