Does Drudge have a trademark or copyright claim against K Street?
Drudge’s comments suggest the type of suit he may be contemplating is a copyright or trademark suit. Doubtless, the name “The Drudge Report” is trademarked. Thus, Drudge has the basic set of facts to support a trademark infringement or trademark dilution claim: unauthorized use of a trademark. That’s not the end of the story. There are other considerations, but it is the bare bones of a suit — and that’s why you so rarely see trademarks being used on television without permission, except in, for instance, a documentary or news program. What about a copyright claim? The name “The Drudge Report” probably cannot validly be copyrighted. There’s a rule that titles and short phrases rarely can be. (That’s why, for instance, two novels can have the same title.) However, the show not only showed the title of The Drudge Report, but also part of a screen that included the Matalin photo and other text, as well. Thus, it’s possible Drudge might claim copyright on each day’s — or hour’s, or minut
