E&Y sues over entrepreneur trademark
Big Four firm entangled in a trademark lawsuit over use of the term entrepreneur
Ernst & Young has launched a legal battle in the US to protect its
international ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award trademark.
The firm is suing a magazine called Entrepreneur Magazine over its attempts
to run a contest for its own ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’, prompting the legal
battle.
The firm has used the term for the past 20 years in acknowledging successful
business leaders around the world. Past luminaries include Michael Dell of Dell
Computer, Howard Schultz of Starbucks and Steve Case of America Online.
Entrepreneur Media, the owner of the magazine, is currently running an
Entrepreneur of the Year contest. Following a decision by the company to
dismiss demands to cease running the contest, E&Y has filed a complaint in
the Federal Court.
The publisher in turn filed for declaratory judgment asking the court to
declare that E&Y’s trademark is invalid and unenforceable.
‘Like countless other organisations across the country, EMI is entitled to
use the generic phrase ‘entrepreneur of the year’ to describe its entrepreneur
of the year contests and award programs,’ the lawsuit stated.