As it’s possibly the most popular Broadway show out right now, it’s no surprise that “Hamilton” merchandise is flying off the shelves. But, multiple merchandisers that tried to cash in on the show’s popularity are finding themselves involved in lawsuits now.
HamiltonCo., the production entity for “Hamilton,” is suing SunFrog and GearLaunch for infringing on the show’s copyright and trademark, and dilution, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Creative Goods Merchandise has the sole sub-license to create merchandise with the “Hamilton” logo and trademark.
The lawsuit alleges that the merchandisers don’t adequately ensure that the designs on the site are legally used.
“GearLaunch does not require its collaborators to provide confirming information that a given design, such as those incorporating famous copyrights and trademarks as the “Hamilton” logo, is being used with the permission of the proprietors of the relevant copyright and/or trademark,” wrote attorney Mark Lawless in the lawsuit. “Instead, GearLaunch purports to rely simply upon a warranty by the designers that the designs are not infringing, and GearLaunch purports to have no involvement in the design selection process.”
In its defense, GearLaunch sent The Hollywood Reporter a statement.
“At GearLaunch, our priority is providing services that best support sellers in building successful e-commerce businesses, and as part of that we work hard to ensure our sellers understand that they must respect the intellectual property rights of others,” the statement said. “We have robust policies in place to prevent sellers using our platform from violating intellectual property laws. What’s more, we take seriously any violations that do occur by working with sellers to correct issues.”
