A portion of a “seemingly never-ending dispute” in New York Federal
Court came to an end when a district judge dismissed a major part of a
lawsuit filed by Vaad L’Hafotzas Sichos and Zalman Chanin against Merkos and Aguc”h over the printing of the Rebbe’s Sichos.
In a decision issued yesterday, the first day of Chol Hamoed Sukkos, senior district judge Frederic Block dismissed claims of copyright infringement and unfair competition which were brought by Chanin.
This lawsuit was originally brought by Vaad and Chanin as a challenge
against Merkos’s trademark of the Kehot logo in 2001 and again in 2011
in federal court. The plaintiffs claimed that the logo was simply a
‘spiritual mark’ and was not that of a publishing house.
Both the U.S. Copyright Office and the United States District Court
ruled against the plaintiffs and dismissed a lawsuit seeking $21
million, as well as granting Kehot exclusive use of their logo. The
ruling was based on “the record [which] shows that both the Previous
Rebbe and the Rebbe… each took the business steps that any trademark
owner would take with respect to a trademark, including filing for
protection of the mark under the laws of New York State.”
Now, in a twenty-six page ruling, judge Block noted that “For the
third time, the Court is called upon to adjudicate an aspect of the
seemingly never-ending dispute precipitated by the passing of the
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson” and that “Even a matter
as final as death is a subject of debate in the Lubavitcher community,
with some holding the “heartfelt belief that, notwithstanding his
physical passing in 1994, the Rebbe still lives.””
He went on to say “Though perhaps more mundane, the matter before the
Court is no less fiercely disputed. At issue is the right to publish
the Likkutei Sichos…”
Yet another example of people using archoyos rather than Beth din. Have the worldwide Jewish community basically said they no longer trust any batei din?
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