On September 10, 2018, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner issued an 11-page ruling that denied Coachella partial summary judgment on its trademark infringement claims against Trevor Simms (“Simms”)- organizer of “Filmchella,” a three-day film festival held in Joshua Tree, California- by deciding a reasonable jury could find the two festivals are not similar enough to confuse consumers.
As previously reported by “In The Know” on September 7, 2018, this dispute stems from the conduct of Simms in holding a three-day film festival entitled “Filmchella,” despite Coachella’s multiple cease-and-desist letters, and also based on Simms’ application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the Filmchella trademark.
Judge Klausner explained that while Filmchella featured some musical performances, they were nothing compared to the names (e.g., Beyoncé, Madonna and Coldplay) Coachella attracts.
This trial was set to begin on October 9, 2018, but a settlement was reached on October 2, 2018, and was signed off on October 4, 2018, on a deal that prohibits the three-day film festival once called “Filmchella” from using marks that might be confusingly similar to the popular Coachella music festival.
Coachella and owner Goldenvoice LLC are represented by David J. Steele, Howard A. Kroll and Steven E. Lauridsen of Tucker Ellis LLP.
Simms represents himself.
The case is Coachella Music Festival LLC et al. v. Robert Trevor Simms et al., case number 2:17-cv-06059, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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