Talk show icon Oprah Winfrey's company Harpo Inc. is suing the creators of the podcast "Oprahdemics" citing unauthorized use of Winfrey's trademarked name without a license.
Harpo Inc., vs Kellie Carter Jackson and Leah Wright Rigueur will examine if the podcasting duo is attempting to use the name sans license to capitalize on what is known as "The Oprah Effect," according to the Hollywood Reporter.
When Roulette Productions launched the "Oprahdemics" podcast project in March, the creators were able to work up enough success to wrap up the first season with a live show at the Tribeca Film Festival in June. The show focuses on studying the "Queen of Talk" with the podcast, the oprahdemics.com website and multiple other social sites.
The suit levied by Harpo Inc. aims to try and protect the trademark rights of Oprah's brand and the "O" logo. But, the lawsuit is being seen as one that is trying to shutter a project seen as more academic than commercial, as Bloomberg Law reports.
Carter Jackson and Wright Rigueur are both professors, one from Wellesley College and the other from Johns Hopkins University respectively.
The "Oprahdemics" podcast markets its first season as 15 episodes that cover everything from "diets to budgets to Tyler Perry, Beyonce & more." So a plethora of topics that affect people's everyday lives, along with exciting parts of pop culture, just like Oprah's talk show over the years along with her many other media projects.
As Law 360 reported, Harpo Inc. filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in a New York federal court claiming accusing Roulette Productions of trademark infringement, and claiming that the show's creators intentionally mislead listeners and consumers into thinking Oprah Winfrey is affiliated with the project.
Oprah's trademarks, in some cases, date back to 1992.
