NEW YORK -- A federal judge Wednesday ruled in favor of Playboy magazine in a trademark infringement case against Chuckleberry Publications, which had wanted to change the name of its publication to 'Playmen.'
U.S. District Judge Abraham Sofaer said that trial evidence indicated that Playboy's name alone was worth at least $200 million.
He said it has 'great distinctiveness' and is the cornerstone of the business empire built by Playboy Enterprises.
The remarks were contained in an order permanently barring Chuckleberry Publications from changing the name of its publication 'Adelina,' the male sophisticate magazine it sells in the United States, to 'Playmen.'
He also ordered the publisher to strike from the cover of 'Adelina' the subtitle 'America's Edition of Italy's Playmen.'
Playmen is published in Italy.
The evidence, the judge said, indicates that the subtitle was designed to promote 'Adelina' in such a way as to trade on the Playboy mark. It promotes a 'subliminal association with Playboy,' he said.
Sofear described as a sham the publishers claim it was merely trying to exploit 'Playmen's' reputation in Italy, where it has been published since 1967.
The judge, however, rejected Playboy's request to extend his ban against the use of the name 'Playmen' to any male sophisticate magazine published in French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.
Playboy obtained a restraining order and a temporary injunction against the use of the name after the company announced its intention to publish the magazine in 1979.
