Kansas City News Blog

Last Thursday, Paris Hilton filed suit in a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against Hallmark for the card company’s use of her likeness and her trademarked catch phrase, “That’s hot,” on a greeting card. Those creative geniuses at Crown Center pissed off Paris’ people when they started selling a $2.49 card with a cartoon captioned “Paris’ First Day as a Waitress.” Hilton’s face is superimposed over the face of a waitress, who is handing food to a patron and explaining, “That’s hot.”

Hilton has a trademark on those two words. The registered them in 2006 (claiming that she first used the phrase “that’s hot” on September 20, 2006) for use on her line of men’s and women’s clothing.

Hilton seeks $500,000 in punitive damages resulting from an invasion of her privacy and misappropriation of her image, and wants to prevent Hallmark from using her likeness ever again. Hilton’s lawsuit contends that Hallmark is diluting the value of her catchphrase and image, and infringing on her ability to use it for commercial gain.

Sensing a delicious celebrity scandal, we called up an attorney with the Intellectual Property Center, LLC, headquartered on Ward Parkway. Art Shaffer, who is not involved in the Hilton-Hallmark lawsuit, told us that trademark law is in place mostly to protect consumers from being confused in the marketplace by too-similar brands (to make sure that the Rolex they’re buying is really a Rolex, for example). The way Shaffer sees it, “That’s hot” is a generic phrase that has been used by countless people, countless times prior to September 2006. “Her claim of exclusive ownership of the phrase for use on clothing is a tenuous position to be in,” he said.

Hilton’s trademark reminds Shaffer of Donald Trump’s trade marking of the phrase “You’re Fired” after successful seasons of his reality show The Apprentice.

“There is a claim of ownership one has to his or her image. There was a famous case involving Vanna White and an intellectual property right she claimed to her image… But as a famous person, you have a certain degree of fewer rights, because you can’t stop people from reporting the news, you can’t prevent people from making satirical works and parody by commenting on the times in a way that people can understand what they’re saying. The idea of trademark law is that although you want to encourage companies to invest and protect brand recognition of goods and services, you don’t want to take away from the public’s ability to comment on goods and services.”

One can only assume that Hilton’s Hollywood attorneys are the best that money can buy. But if Hallmark fights Hilton in court and wins, the heiress stands to lose her claim to her catchphrase.

If a crappy $2.49 card can yoink a $20 million dollar heiress’ trademark phrase, that would be hot. – Nadia Pflaum