It’s The Duke versus Duke University in a new lawsuit.
Filed just before the holiday weekend, the family of late actor John Wayne, known as The Duke, sued Duke University in North Carolina over the use of Wayne’s nickname.
The lawsuit states that the family wants to use the name “Duke” to market its bourbon and other alcoholic beverages.
This is far from the first time the university has clashed with the Wayne family, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In 2005, Duke University turned to the courts stop the family from registering the name for various restaurant services, gaming machines, celebrity licensing services, and more. But the fight came to a head in March 2013, when John Wayne Enterprises filed a trademark application for “Duke John Wayne” for alcoholic beverages, except beers.
The school has stated, “Consistent with its policies and in order to prevent tarnishment of its brand, [Duke University] does not permit use of confusingly similar marks associated with unapproved goods or services, of uncertain quality and/or unregulated by [Duke University].”
But Wayne’s family believes the school is going too far.
“Duke University is not and never has been in the business of producing, marketing, distributing, or selling alcohol. On information and belief, the actual and potential customer base of Duke University is vastly different from the customer base of JWE,” the complaint reads.
“Duke University does not own the word ‘Duke’ in all contexts for all purposes. Duke is a common word that has been in use for centuries in a wide array of commercial and other applications wholly independent of Duke University,” the complaint continues. “Yet by the actions alleged herein, Duke University seems to think it owns the word ‘Duke’ for all purposes and applications.”
Luckily for the university, they just have to deal with Wayne’s family. I wouldn’t want to tangle with The Duke himself.
