If there’s any actor in Hollywood that should be able to pick the name of his production company without getting into legal trouble, it’s Gerard Butler, right?
Guess again.
Butler, who started off his career as a lawyer before going on to star in 300, Phantom of the Opera, and Law Abiding Citizen is now being sued for trademark infringement.
Even better, the trademark at issue is “Evil Twin(s),” which pretty nicely sums up what any good trademark case is all about.
Butler and his business partner, Alan Siegel, have a production company, Evil Twins.
The company that’s suing under the banner of Evil Twin Productions.
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According to the complaint, Evil Twin Productions was started by Kristen Armfield and Harri Mark in 1996. They have a registered trademark over “Evil Twin.” According to the Evil Twin’s website, the entity is “more like a dysfunctional family of overchievers (sic) than a company” and have worked on promotional TV spots for High School Musical 3, The Dark Knight, and Coldplay’s last album.
Meanwhile, the plaintiff asserts that Butler and Siegel announced the creation of Evil Twins Entertainment in March 2008. And ever since then, there’s been alleged confusion in the marketplace.
How?
For starters, Evil Twin says it has received correspondence and telephone calls intended the Evil Twins.
The complaint also says that Butler is aware of the controversy, having been served with notice by the plaintiff.
Butler allegedly put up this caution flag on his own personal website: “DO NOT contact other Evil Twins or Evil Twin companies listed in Los Angeles.”
The current version of Butler’s website only admonishes people that there “is no ‘productions’, ‘films’ or any other words in the title of” his company.
The plaintiff is demanding an injunction and either actual damages or $2 million in statutory damages for alleged unfair competition.
Reached for comment, Siegel laughed, but had nothing to say at this time.
