Culture Clash Takes Center Stage In Suit

Jill Krueger Staff Writer

DAYTONA BEACH — Skateboarders are skateboarders.

'N Sync fans are 'N Sync fans.

They don't listen to the same music. They don't congregate at the same places.

And they never dress alike.

It's a culture clash at the heart of a trademark lawsuit filed by Daytona Beach skate wear maker Fuman Inc. against Fu Man Skeeto Inc., a now-defunct clothing manufacturer led by 'N Sync boy band member Chris Kirkpatrick.

"They have essentially destroyed the value of our client's property by associating with a band our clients would not be fans of," says Daniel R. Lozier, the Pensacola attorney representing Fuman Inc.

Bloomies buys in

Fuman — a lower case acronym suggestive of an unprintable act — was the brainchild of Robert Williams and graphic designer Ricardo Antonio Rojas. They came up with the Fugit skateboarding clothing lines launched in the 1980s. The partners launched Fuman Inc. in January 1997 to sell their brand names. That same year, they received trademarks to use the brand names on shirts, pants, shorts, jackets and T-shirts.

Today, Fuman sells primarily skate boarding and surf boarding equipment. It caters to the skater culture, Lozier explains.

Which is why when Kirkpatrick's company, Fu Man Skeeto Inc., hit the scene in 1999, Williams and Rojas were fuming.

It began when 'N Sync member Kirkpatrick appeared on television talking about Fu Man Skeeto, the new clothing line he was producing and selling.

Kirkpatrick started out selling the clothes online at http://www.fumanskeeto.com and soon expanded it to more than 100 stores, including such upscale department stores as Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and Eaton's, as well as in popular magazines and on popular television talk shows. Later, other stores including Vanity, Fast Forward and Von Maur picked up the clothing line. All but Von Maur are named in the lawsuit.

Tales of two teens

The promotion of a similarly named clothing line by the baby-faced Kirkpatrick, whose hair ranges from red to purple to dreadlocks on any given day, was a retail disaster waiting to happen, says Lozier.

"Skate boarders don't listen to 'N Sync music," Lozier says. " And 'N Sync fans aren't going to be intense about their skate boarding activities."

That's the least of it.

The typical skater is a boy ranging in age from 14 to 18 who just can't get enough of skate boarding. T-shirts, oversized baggy jeans or shorts and skate shoes such as Vans are de rigeur. Music choices include punk, hip-hop, even alternative rock. What they don't listen to — ever — is popular boy bands like 'N Sync, says a worker at Vans Skate Park at Festival Bay.

Typical fans of 'N Sync and other fresh-faced boy bands, on the other hand, are girls ranging in age from 6 to 16. They are highly fashion conscious, their natural habitat is the mall and they also tend to idolize Britney Spears.

Skateboard credibility

Fuman's attorney says his clients received several offers from representatives of Fu Man Skeeto to buy its trademark —but repeatedly declined their offers.

The lawsuit also argues Fu Man Skeeto's corporate officers, Kirkpatrick and Danielle Raabe, knew since September 1999 that Fuman Inc. held the rights to the Fuman name.

That's because shortly after Fu Man Skeeto was formed, the company sought a trademark for its own clothing line, which ranged from baby clothing to pajamas. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office turned the company down in 1998, and again in 1999, citing Fuman's preexisting trademark.

Fu Man Skeeto ultimately did receive a trademark earlier this year — one that covers merchandise such as skateboards.

Fuman Inc. is disputing Fu Man Skeeto's latest trademark registration, as well as that of Fu Man Skeeto Records Inc. in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

A.G. Condon Jr., an attorney representing Kirkpatrick and 'N Sync, declines comment on the allegations. However, a representative of 'N Sync's management company, Wright Entertainment Group in Orlando, says simply, "The company (Fu Man Skeeto Inc.) is out of business."

Tracy Overby, a spokeswoman for Nordstrom, says, "We are working with the vendor on this issue. It is our understanding that the vendor is trying to resolve it."

But the solution will be expensive, warns Lozier.

"Our view is in order to undo this damage caused by worldwide marketing, our client would have to spend a fortune convincing the skateboard crowd that they are not 'N Sync culture," says Lozier. "Even the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can't keep it straight."

- - Orlando Business Journal
- - Thanks to CCR for the link.

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