Dunder Mifflin’s office at the center of a trademark infringement lawsuit by NBCU – Deadline

This could be an episode of Paper hunt. NBC Global Sues a company she calls a “brand squatter” for alleged trademark registration fraud Donder Mifflinwhich is the name of the fictional paper company contained in NBC‘s the desk.

The lawsuit filed on Friday in the US District Court for the Central District of California alleges that Jay Kennett Media Group and its owner, Jay Kennett, “founded a business on the basis of registering others’ trademarks” in order to resell the marks to their rightful owners or to take advantage of “consumer confusion” by offering branded merchandise related to a popular TV show, movie or video game that they do not own. legitimate connection with it.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants registered Dunder Mifflin’s name with the US Patent and Trademark Office about six years ago in order to market hoodies, T-shirts, jackets and other apparel. The NBCU says it tried to register a faux company in 2020, but its application was turned down. NBCU is appealing this decision.

The lawsuit aims to end Jay Kennette Media’s use of the Dunder Mifflin name and to destroy any remaining branded merchandise. The plaintiffs – NBCUniversal Media LLC, Universal Television LLC and Universal Studios Licensing – are also seeking unspecified damages and any profits already obtained from sales of merchandise.

Based on the UK series Ricky Gervais-fronted, the desk It aired from 2005-13 on NBC. Steve Carell, John Krasinki, Gina Fisher, Rainn Wilson, and others led the group comedy about people and their daily grind in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The sitcom is still very popular in merchandising and live broadcasting.

The City News Service contributed to this report.