Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Louisiana

We want to put the phrase "the train they call the City of New Orleans" on a coffee mug to get printed a couple hundred at a time and sell at a table in the french market. Does arlo guthrie own that phrase?


Asked on 2/13/10, 10:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Adam Lambert The Law Office of Adam S. Lambert

You would have at least a colorable argument that he does not, since there really is an Amtrack train called the City of New Orleans, upon which the song is based. However, as the line is specifically a line in the song, he could argue infringement. Moreover, intellectualy property litigation is VERY expensive (VERY EXPENSIVE), so you would be best to avoid any possible problem. You can certainly use the words "train" and "City of New Orleans", but you would be better to find a slightly different phrase to be totally safe

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Answered on 2/19/10, 10:13 am


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