Lawsuit settled over misuse of Terrible Towel trademark on masks
The foundation that owns the Terrible Towel trademark has settled a lawsuit it filed last week against an Indiana County shop that had been marketing “The Terrible Mask” pandemic face coverings.
On Friday, the Eamon Foundation, which previously operated as the AVS Foundation — part of the Allegheny Valley School — entered into a consent decree with Time In Apparel and Charles A. Goldberg.
On Aug. 21, the Eamon Foundation filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against Time In Apparel over its sales this summer of “The Terrible Mask.”
The masks, being sold for $15 on the company’s website, used the same distinctive font as that on The Terrible Towel, created by longtime Pittsburgh broadcasting legend Myron Cope more than 40 years ago.
In 1996, Cope gifted the right to the Terrible Marks, as the lawsuit calls them, to the Allegheny Valley School, which provides services to developmentally disabled people. Over the years, several trademark infringement lawsuits have been filed to protect the product and its many variations.
In July, Eamon’s attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to Goldberg. He responded through an attorney claiming Cope had given him permission to use the trademark, but he no longer had a letter or a copy of it as proof.
Eamon said in its lawsuit that was untrue.
As part of the consent decree entered on Friday, Goldberg will not be permitted to manufacture or market any items with The Terrible Marks.
In addition, he cannot disseminate any advertisements with them and must recall any that have already been disseminated.
The filing notes Goldberg filed a U.S. Trademark application April 17 for the name “The Terrible Mask” to be used for protective masks and not medical purposes. As part of the agreement, that application must be withdrawn. He also may not register any domain names using the word “Terrible.”
Goldberg also must remove any infringing materials from his website.
On the company’s website Friday evening, the main page, which previously featured The Terrible Mask, now says, “Stay tuned. New and exciting face masks coming soon!”
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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