Larry Flynt wins family trademark fight

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Hustler publisher Larry Flynt won a legal battle with his nephews when a court in Los Angeles ruled they cannot use the Flynt name for their own line of porn.

In a case brought on grounds of trademark infringement and false endorsement, a federal court jury found in Flynt's favor Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

During a four-week trial, Flynt and his lawyers argued the nephews were trying to capitalize on the reputation he has built as head of Larry Flynt Publications by marketing their own films using only their last name -- Flynt. The verdict means a temporary order barring them from doing so will become a permanent one.

Flynt was almost broke in 1974 when he converted a newsletter he had been distributing in his chain of Ohio strip clubs into a glossy magazine that quickly became notorious for explicit photography well beyond what was shown in soft-core magazines like Playboy and Penthouse.