The legal drama between the heirs of the late movie star John Wayne and Duke University regarding the use of the name as label for a liquor product has marked its latest salvo last week. The Telegraph said California-based John Wayne Enterprises has filed a federal lawsuit to assert their rights to the name "Duke" of which the company said is the late actor's moniker since childhood, for their commercial products. lawyers of the North Carolina university has since insisted that the use of the name "Duke" would "diminish, dilute and tarnish" the value of the school's name. The paper said that both parties hold trademarks to the name.
The Wayne family's lawyers said in the lawsuit, "Duke University does not own the word 'Duke' in all contests and purposes. Duke is a common word that has been used for centuries in a wide array of commercial and other applications wholly independent of Duke University. Yet by the actions alleged herein, Duke University seems to think it owns the word 'Duke' for all purposes and applications."
The Wayne estate has a signature bourbon, of which its label has an image of the late actor holding a rifle with the word "Duke" emblazoned in bold letters. On the other hand, the university has been named for a rich family of Durham tobacco barons who had gifted what had been a small college then in the early 1900s affiliated with the Methodist church.
The Telegraph said that Duke University had made its first legal move against the Wayne estate back in 2005 when it opposed the latter's application to use the contested name for a restaurant. The university filed another objection again last year when the estate use the name for their alcoholic beverages.
Duke University spokesman Michael Schoenfeld said, "While we admire and respect John Wayne's contributions to American culture, we are also committed to protecting the integrity of Duke University's trademarks. As Mr. Wayne himself said, 'Words are what men live by. words they say and mean.'"
