(Host) A Vermont children’s book publisher who’s suing DaimlerChrysler for trademark infringement says the auto company has made an offer to settle.
Chooseco of Waitsfield filed a lawsuit earlier this week, saying that DaimlerChrysler’s new ad campaign for the Jeep Patriot infringes on the trademark of “Choose Your Own Adventure” – a newly reissued interactive book series.
Jeep’s new ads use the tag line: “Choose Your Adventure.” Shannon Gilligan is Publisher of Chooseco. She says the Jeep ad campaign has an interactive component that evokes the Choose Your Own Adventure books, which were popular with kids 20 years ago.
(Gilligan) “It’s just all in your mind together- Choose Your Own Adventure – particularly in the target demographic that Jeep is after the 22 to 35-year-old male and female – that’s the core of the original fan base. So they see interactivity and Choose Your Adventure’, and it’s all the same thing.”
(Host) The Jeep Patriot web site has movie scenes that users can put together to create a story, using the motto, “Choose Your Adventure.”
Chooseco says it’s very similar to the interactive model of the Choose Your Own Adventure books, and creates an association between the two products.
Gilligan says she received word early this morning that DaimlerChrysler had made an offer to settle the lawsuit, but that she’s not authorized to disclose the terms of the offer at this time.