Hachette Fights For Its Right to Make Bathroom Mats
This is a tough time for the magazine business, so it's only to be expected that publishers will do whatever is necessary to defend their dying brands. You may have never picked up a copy of Metropolitan Home (or even heard of the title), but Hachette wasn't thrilled to find out that a company has been producing lighting fixtures under the "Metropolitan Home" name, especially since part of Hachette's plan to save the title consists of launching a line of home decor products under the same name.
Hachette, which claims the mag generates $30 million in revenue a year, says it has already reserved the right to use "Metropolitan Home" for a line of interior and exterior paints, bedding, tabletop accessories, ashtrays, bathroom accessories, wall coverings, and bathroom rugs (among other things). And so now it's suing the lighting manufacturer, Minka Lighting, and is seeking to overturn Minka's trademark on its collection of "Metropolitan Home" lighting products.
While you wait for the inevitable Condé Nast lawsuit over Vanity Fair napkins, you can have a look at Hachette's lawsuit for yourself below.