Sep
Burck v. Mars: The Naked Cowboy Shall Ride On
Robert Burck, aka The Naked Cowboy, an iconic street performer in Times Square, had the foresight to trademark his name and image. When the Mars company developed an ad campaign depicting its famous M&M candies in and around New York City, they chose to dress up one of the candies as The Naked Cowboy. Burck sued for trademark infringement, claiming false endorsement; Mars claimed fair use as a parody. On motions to dismiss, a federal court in New York decided that Burck’s false endorsement claims could proceed to the factfinder, as could Mars’ defense of parody. Burck v. Mars, Inc., WL 2485524, No. 08 Civ. 1330 (DC), (S.D.N.Y. 2008).

