As most Pixar fans know, John Lasseter was inspired by his own Luxo brand lamp for Pixar’s first short film, Luxo Jr.
The Norwegian lamp manufacturer, Luxo ASA, which settled with Pixar over the name "Luxo Jr." more than 20 years ago, is filing a new complaint in New York federal court over the name’s use in limited edition products by Disney.
What do they mean by that? According to the Oslo-based company, Disney/Pixar hasn’t merchandised products using "Luxo Jr." explicitly until now. Apparently this breaches past agreements and would "cause devastating damage to Luxo and dilute the goodwill which Luxo has built up." Luxo ASA is citing the Luxo Jr. Premium Combo Pack and the animatronic Luxo Jr. at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as infringing on their trademark.
In my opinion, the complaint is ridiculous considering Pixar and Luxo came to a settlement way back in the 80’s over the use of their name. So why does it matter now? Oh wait, it’s because Disney’s making money off of it in an actual tangible product. I’d have thought that Luxo would be happy about their name being spread by one of the most trusted entities in the movie industry. But it’s all about money isn’t it…
A spokesperson for Disney said he/she hadn’t been informed and wouldn’t comment until he/she read through the complaint. If you’ve read The Pixar Touch, you’ll know that the studio has been slammed with countless lawsuits and typically wins the cases. I wonder how this one will go. Hopefully Disney/Pixar can hop away unscathed.
Your thoughts…?
(via Stitch Kingdom/Source: Bloomberg)
Last modified: September 5, 2009
Sure wish these people would hold their horses, eh? Man, this is ridiculous…
So will Pixar still be able to use the li’l guy in their logo (as the “I”)?
—Lei
Actually, I think this is fair enough. Luxo Junior has been used a lot more lately with products and the animatronic. If Disney are making money from a Luxo design, then Luxo deserve a cut. Hopefully the two companies can come to agreement that suits both parties. Maybe Luxo could use the Pixar brand to help advertise their lamps?
Well, Pixar’s character is not a Luxo design, it’s John Lasseter’s cartoon of a Luxo lamp if it was a baby. I think what they’re most concerned about is the actual name Luxo being used. But you’d think they’d WANT to be associated with Pixar… guess not.
Actually, the short in which Luxo appeared in was called “Luxo, Jr.” itself, so they had already used its name deliberately.
—Lei
Yes, and they came to an agreement over it over 20 years ago as I pointed out in the article. I should have clarified: the name being used — in a tangible product.
The article pretty much said that. 🙂
But yeah, it’s not the design, it’s the fact that the name is being used on something that Luxo didn’t make. They don’t mind the actual lamp being made, they just don’t want Disney and Pixar throwing around the name if Luxo themselves have no part in it. Greedy…
Actually, that makes sense.
If I made something and then a knock-off was being sold with my product name on it, and I didn’t get any money, I’d feel as if my share was being cut from it. I don’t think it’s as much as using the name as it is making and producing the lamps.
Although, the animatronic is confusing to me. Why they got mad at that, I don’t know. 😕
I have no doubts though that an agreement will be made; I’m sure Luxo will be getting a part.
I don’t think it’s greedy. Luxo ASA has been pretty amiable towards the use of the animated lamp in the logo as well as with the name. But now, this has gone a bit too far. They may have been a little bit upset about not being asked about the animatronic lamp, but it was only when they realized that Disney was going to actually be making working lamps that they realized that in order to protect what they have made, and own, they need to make sure that Disney knows their place in all of this.
Copyright/trademark are the things that you never want to cross in the business world.
Yeah, Luxo’s not being greedy here. “Luxo” is owned by Luxo, and they can do what they want with it. Businesses exist to make money. That’s why they were founded in the first place. Therefore, Luxo has every right to protect it’s name.
Disney are such jerks.
I can see why both sides may be right/wrong. But the real question is, how far is too far. We’ll see how the court settles it. 😉
You would also think Disney Legal would have checked all of this out ahead of time.
Maybe they did and said, screw Luxo, let em come after us. This is a very real reaction as I’ve experienced first hand from other LARGE companies.
I think I agree more with Luxo ASA. Please remember that the lawsuit is them versus Disney – not Pixar. Disney has in the past, even in regards to Pixar themselves, tried to break/twist agreements. Remember when they wanted to take creative control over Pixar’s characters and make straight to DVD sequels?
This was actually one of the reasons that Pixar was bought by Disney – to regain control – oddly enough. If they had not signed back with Disney, any of the characters prior to 2006, would have been controlled by Disney to do what they like with. By allowing themselves to be bought, they were able to sign an agreement stating that any sequels would be made only if, and when, Pixar decided to make them themselves.