Brando Enterprises Sues Rooms To Go

August 14, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Legal on August 15, 2011

Brando Enterprises has filed a lawsuit alleging unlicensed use of Marlon Brando's name against furniture retailer Rooms To Go.

Los Angeles-based Brando Enterprises is the operating entity created by the Marlon Brando Living Trust to manage business interests on behalf of the late actor's beneficiaries. The Rooms To Go suit alleges unlicensed use of the Brando name in connection with a line of sofas and sectionals marketed by the Seffner, Fla.-based furniture retailer.

The suit was filed Friday in the California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, West District.

"Part of our continued efforts on behalf of Brando Enterprises is to rigorously monitor the manufacturing and retail marketplace to ensure that any commercial use of the Brando name, image or trademarks is licensed through a negotiated agreement with Brando Enterprises' duly appointed licensing representatives," said Jeffrey Abrams of the Los Angeles-based law firm Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin. "We will not tolerate any company's infringements on the rights of Brando Enterprises and will pursue economic recovery aggressively against companies violating these rights."

This is the second lawsuit this summer involving the Brando name and furniture. In June, Brando Enterprises filed a similar lawsuit against Ashley Furniture over sales and marketing of unlicensed "Brando" sofas and ottomans.