OK-Go, the cereal bowl, brought OK-Go, the band, to court

The most unlikely of trademark wars is the one between an indie rock band and a major make breakfast cerealwith a line of cereal cups in the center of the fight.

Post Foods filed a complaint against the band OK Go, saying it was a preemptive move after months of legal threats from the band, which claimed the company was trying to exploit its name.

It’s a lot of finger pointing about two products that seem hard to confuse—a band best known for its detailed music videoslike “Here It Goes Again” and a bowl of cereal with instant milk powder to which you only need to add cold water—but the anger is real.

Post, in its complaint, filed on January 13 in Minnesota federal court, says the band is threatening legal action product surface. The Post is seeking a “declaratory judgment” from the courts, essentially clearing the company of any claim to trademark rights.

“Without resolution by this court, the Post will be unfairly forced to continue investing in its new OK GO! brand while under the constant threat of groundless future litigation by the defendants,” the Post wrote in the filing. this.

In September, the band’s lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Post, saying the cereal bowl name would imply an endorsement from the band, which has previous advertising deals. Sony, Chevrolet and others. However, it did, however, create a series of promotional videos for another Post product: Honey Bunches of Oats.

That last argument didn’t carry much weight with the Post’s lawyers, who responded to OK Go’s lawyer saying: “Given the amount of time that has passed since that limited collaboration over the past decade, very little number of views displayed on the YouTube videos that you refer to, and the general consumes the short attention of the public, it also has absolutely no effect on the consumer perception of the Post brand OK GO! used with cereal or cereal-based snacks, and will not lead to any false association with OK Go.

The Post said it offered to pay the band an undisclosed amount to settle the dispute, but that offer was rejected.

In a statement of BillboardOK Go said the lawsuit caught it by surprise and continued the war of words with the Post.

“A large corporation chose to steal our band’s name to sell plastic sugar cups to children. That was an unwelcome surprise, to say the least,” the band wrote. “But then they sued the US about it? Maybe, the idea is that they can just bully us in our own name, because they have more money to spend on lawyers? I think that’s always how it works, but hopefully , we will be the exception.”

The post did not respond immediately It’s fortune request for comment. The band OK GO! did not immediately provide a statement.

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