WINFREY’S ‘AHA MOMENT’ CATCHPHRASE AT CENTRE OF LEGAL BATTLE
OPRAH WINFREY is embroiled in a legal battle with the bosses of an insurance company over the use of her signature catchphrase, the "Aha moment".
The media titan is known for using the phrase to describe a revelation on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in her O magazine.
But the catchphrase is now at the centre of a dispute between the mogul and executives at Mutual of Omaha Bank, after Winfrey took issue to their advertising campaign featuring the slogan, "Official sponsor of the aha moment".
The mogul’s lawyers fired off a cease and desist letter to the bank, claiming Winfrey owned the rights to the catchphrase and demanding they call off plans to run their promos, fearing the star’s fans may be misled into thinking she was affiliated with them.
However, the Mutual of Omaha Bank has hit back with a lawsuit, alleging Winfrey "abandoned" any rights she may have to the phrase by failing to "police the alleged mark" when other businesses used it beforehand.
The suit was filed in a federal court in Nebraska on Wednesday (22Apr09) and bank lawyers have requested the judge allow them to press ahead with their promotional campaign, according to TMZ.com.
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
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