January 22, 2005

• STORYBOOK WEDDINGS ® – THE STORY
  BEHIND STORYBOOK

  ---

  There
  is a big thread in the Digital Wedding Forum about why I have
  registered the name, “Storybook Weddings” as a registered
  trademark.  It is a little more complex than my wanting to
  register and tie up the phrase.  This story is
  interesting…

  I had hired a young, ambitious photographer, (she started with me when
  she was 19, numbering proofs) who worked her way up to manage my
  studio.  She worked for me for five years, and when she got
  married and moved, I shot the wedding, played piano with the band, and
  wished her well.

  When I went to launch my website, I found that the name of my studio
  had been taken – BY HER!  She took the website,
  “storybookstudio.com”  When I called her to ask what the hell
  she
  was thinking, she said it was her website and too
  bad!    So I called an attorney, and when we
  investigated, she actually went to the US patent and trademark office
  and registered the trademark claiming that she was the inventor of the
  phrase “Storybook Studio”.  
  

  My attorney wrote her a letter informing her that her claims in
  registering the trademark that I already owned after 15 years of common
  law rights in interstate commerce constituted fraud. 
  Additionally, if we did not reverse and report her registration – get
  this you’ll love this one – then I WOULD BE INFRINGING HER MARK
  STORYBOOK!  I would then have to pay HER up to 3x my revenues
  for
  any revenue I gained by using the “Storybook” mark.

  So we had to sue her in Federal Court.  Despite my having all
  of
  the payroll records, she continued to deny that she ever worked for
  me.  I mean it was absolutely amazing.  My attorney
  took the
  case on contingency because he knew that the jury would hate
  her. 
  And boy did they.

  After a full federal jury trial (she refused to settle even after
  admitting in her deposition that she lied about “creating” the name
  Storybook) the jury awarded me $245,000 in damages.  Since she
  was
  insured, I got a check from her insurance company.  I used
  that
  money to buy my Raven Creek Estate at Big White Ski Resort and I used
  the sanctions that the judge awarded me against her attorney to buy my
  sailboat.  (I vowed to buy fun things with whatever money I
  got
  out of this shit thing I had to go through).

  I really loved the fact that her attorney had to write me a
  check.  THAT WAS SWEET!

  You can see the judge’s decision at:
  http://garyfong.com/verdict/1.html

  Oh by the way, do a google search for the name, “Teresa
  Halton”. 

  • 6:47 am
  • 2 Comments