Trademark Lawsuit For Using Kazoos To Quack Like A Duck

from the quack-quack dept

When this article in the ABA Journal started off by noting (accurately!) that the following story sounds like typical late-night fodder that makes lawyers look bad for filing frivolous lawsuits -- but then said "but the suit is anything but silly" -- I expected an article that would explain convincingly why a trademark lawsuit between two tourist tour operators that have passengers use kazoos to quack like a duck was not silly. But, I'm left scratching my head. I found the article via Eric Goldman, who notes that "I can't imagine this lawsuit has a good ROI."

Here's the basic story. Apparently, there are some tour operations out there that involve amphibious truck/boats, that take tourists around different places both on land and in water. One company, Ride the Ducks, does this in various areas around the country, and has trademarked the sound of kazoos being used to quack like a duck -- which it asks passengers to play as the truck goes from land to water. Now it turns out, right nearby where I am, in San Francisco, there's a tour called Bay Quackers, that does something similar, also involving quacking kazoos. Ride the Ducks isn't happy and has sued Bay Quackers, saying that the specific quack of the kazoo is trademarked.

My first question is why Bay Quackers just doesn't get different kazoos. Well, actually, my first question is a slightly unprintable question about why tourists might ride amphibious boat/trucks while using kazoos to sound like ducks... but I figure that's a tangent. Either way, it's difficult to see what benefit there really is to this lawsuit, other than Ride the Ducks being pissed off that someone else is using their idea. But ideas aren't protectable, and competition is a good thing. So, we're left with a silly lawsuit about quacking kazoos that does, still, seem pretty frivolous.

Filed Under: amphibious trucks, kazoos, quacking, tourism, trademark
Companies: bay quackers, ride the ducks