After going up to the US Supreme Court and back, Victoria’s Secret have managed to obtain a 2 to 1 majority in the courts to prevent a shop selling sex goods calling itself Victor’s Little Secret. The US Supreme Court ruled that the standard to be considered was likelihood of dilution, not actual, demonstrated dilution.
We suspect that Victor has made a fortune over the past decade due to the publicity that this case has brought him. Victoria’s Secret, on the other hand, comes over as a Goliath like bully (albeit in her undies). Like the famous South Butt case, where an unknown student working from a garage has become known nationally, I am not convinced that there was much sense in filing suit in the first place.
We think that a better strategy for the corporate giant is to get a small timer to sue them for infringement, to pay his costs and to milk the publicity for all it’s worth. Romour has it that the naked cowboy vs. M&M case was funded in this manner.
