The Endless Summer is a 1966 movie that revolves around two surfers who travel around the world in search of the perfect wave for surfing and introduce the locals they meet along the way to the surfing culture. The title ‘The Endless Summer’ refers to the idea that a person can travel and surf round the year if he chases the summer seasons all over the world.
When the movie became popular, Bruce Brown registered the “The Endless Summer” mark for T-shirts, mugs, sweatshirts, towels, pillowcases, toys, surfboards, skateboards, footwear and sporting goods and some other goods. Bruce Brown founded a company Bruce Brown Films, LLC, which now has the rights of merchandising and licensing the intellectual property of The Endless Summer and its posters.
Recently, Nike and Champs, 2 sportswear and footwear brands used the phrase “Endless Summer” and typical orange and blue elements inspired from the movie poster, specifically “a series of stylized blue waves with a large orange sun” in their marketing campaigns. Neither Nike nor Champs’s parent company Foot Locker licensed it from Brown’s company.
Bruce Brown Films LLC stated that it sent a cease and desist notice to both the brands, however they continued using the infringing trademark and the trade dress. Consequently, Bruce Brown Films LLC sued Nike, Champs, and Champs’ parent company Footlocker1 for knowingly and impermissibly trading on the fame and goodwill associated with the movie The Endless Summer and unauthorized use of its trademarks. Bruce Brown Films has also claimed trademark dilution, unfair competition and sought damages from the infringers.
