NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- Spike Jones Jr. has joined forces with the new TNN in the legal battle against the "Do the Right Thing" director, Spike Lee.
The would-be Spike network released an affidavit Monday from Jones, whose father was a famous bandleader and comic, saying he finds Lee's self-proclaimed monopoly to the disputed moniker "frightening."
Lee won an injunction June 13, barring media monolith Viacom from renaming its TNN cable network Spike TV, claiming the "first network for men" was attempting to cash in on his reputation by using his name -- which was actually Shelton Jackson Lee at birth.
TNN says the move has already cost it $16.8 million, with the scuttled Spike TV launch that been scheduled for June 16. TNN also says it could lose up to $42 million if prevented from rebranding itself as Spike TV.
On Tuesday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub scheduled the trial to begin Aug. 18.
