Not So Glad Christmas Tidings for Ya Filthy Animal

Here’s What Happened:

Fans of the movie Home Alone 2 may remember the prank Kevin pulled on the hotel staff that ended with the phrase, “Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal”.

DT Fashions LLC registered the trademark in 2013. DT's best-selling products included t-shirts, sweatshirts, and sweaters containing the phrase “Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal.” DT also had a design that incorporated the phrase.

In November 2014, Santana Jade Cline and The Dark Monkey LLC obtained a copyright registration for a design that incorporated “Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal.” The copyrighted design was virtually identical to a design that DT had been using on its own holiday themed merchandise for about two years before Cline filed for copyright protection.

In October 2015, Cline and The Dark Monkey applied to register the trademark, “Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal”. The USPTO refused registration of the mark in part because of DT’s registered mark.  

In October and November 2016, Cline and The Dark Monkey filed trademark and copyright infringement claims against DT with the e-commerce websites, Etsy, Amazon, and eBay where DT had been selling its “Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal” merchandise. At the time, Cline and the Dark Monkey knew that the USPTO refused registration of the trademark and the copyrighted design was identical to DT’s design. In response to Cline and The Dark Monkey's claims: (1) eBay deactivated some of DT’s merchandise listings; (2) Amazon deactivated at least thirty-two of DT’s merchandise listings; and (3) Etsy deactivated twelve of DT’s merchandise listings and later terminated DT’s account. Of course, this happened at the height of the holiday season. DT estimated that it has lost approximately $65,000 in profits because of the deactivations.

DT brought a multi-count complaint against Cline and The Dark Monkey.

Cline and The Dark Monkey failed to appear, answer or otherwise plead. The court entered an order of default and then a judgment which enjoined Cline and Dark Monkey from using the trademark, declaring Cline and the Dark Monkey’s copyright invalid and entering judgment against Cline and the Dark Monkey in the amount of $65,000.00.

WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS: E-commerce websites have procedures for claims of copyright and trademark infringement involving merchandise sold through their websites. Once a complaint is filed, the website will give the other party time to respond. They will suspend the accounts, sometimes even after a response is filed. If the response shows there’s a dispute, the website will step back and say they won’t do anything further without a court order. That’s why DT had to resort to bringing a lawsuit. Anyone who gets notice of a takedown request from an e-commerce website should immediately seek advice of counsel.

Have a great holiday season and a Happy New Year. See you again in 2025 when we’ll begin publishing this blog post on a bi-weekly basis.

Cited Authority: DT Fashion LLC v. Cline, No. 2:16-CV-1117, 2018 WL 542268, at *1 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 24, 2018)