Entrepreneur Media Firm of Irvine Targets Another “Entrepreneur,” Who Swings Back!

Give me a T for Texas, give me an L for Tennessee.

That's L as in lawsuit, which is what Entrepreneur Media Inc. has brought in federal court against a Nashville nonprofit in the Irvine-based magazine company's never-ending legal war to protect its trademark rights.

]

The Tennessean gets the skinny on the latest skirmish, which has produced a counter-suit by the upstart Entrepreneur Center of Nashville.

The center argues that “entrepreneur” is a generic word that has been in the public domain since at least 1852 (coming from the old French word entreprendre).

But Entrepreneur Media has legal history on its side, winning court cases or getting other entities to abide by cease-and-desist demands from its lawyers around the country.

Entrepreneur, the Magazine for Entrepreneurs, Sics Its Lawyers on Entrepreneur

The company behind Entrepreneur magazine has also been on the receiving end of such litigation as its initials–EMI–are said to be in conflict with the better-known recording label, which filed suit in February to stop the corporate use of that.

An attorney for Entrepreneur Center, which serves as an incubator for start-up businesses, says the nonprofit has agreed to add “Nashville” to its name to further avoid confusion, but that apparently has not satisfied the Irvine company, The Tennessean reports.

So now the Nashville center is trying to employ a little legal confusion by having filed its counter-suit last week in California and Tennessee. That could further tie the case up. Cause if you can't beat 'em, bleed 'em!

Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *