Hilton v. Hallmark Cards, No. 08-55443
In a trademark infringement and state tort action by celebrity Paris Hilton against the greeting card company Hallmark for using her image and catchphrase in a birthday card without her permission, a denial of defendant's motion to strike under California's anti-SLAPP statute is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff had some probability of prevailing on the merits before a trier of fact on the issue of whether defendant's use of her image was transformative; and 2) defendant could not employ the public interest defense because its birthday card did not publish or report information.
Read Hilton v. Hallmark Cards, No. 08-55443
Appellate Information
Argued and Submitted May 6, 2009
Filed August 31, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge O'Scannlain
Counsel
For Appellant:
Lincoln D. Bandlow, Spillane Shaeffer Aronoff Bandlow LLP, Los Angeles, CA
For Appellee:
Brent H. Blakely, Blakely Law Group, Hollywood, CA