Lance Armstrong Foundation Sues Dog Collar Makers

By now, everyone has seen the yellow "LiveStrong" wristbands made popular by Lance Armstrong and his Lance Armstrong Foundation during Armstrong's run of seven consecutive Tour de France titles. Since 2004, more than seventy million wristbands have been sold for $1 each, with proceeds going to the Foundation, a national cancer advocacy charity.

Now, the Foundation is taking steps to combat a potential trademark infringer. On Tuesday, September 11, 2007, the Foundation filed suit against Oklahoma-based Animal Charity Collar Group (ACCG), a for-profit company, for trademark infringement. In court documents, the Foundation alleges that ACCG stole the Foundation’s idea in producing yellow dog and cat collars embossed with the words "Barkstrong" and "Purrstrong."

The Foundation seeks an injunction to shut down ACCG's website, an order ending the use of the LiveStrong slogan by ACCG, unspecified monetary damages, and an order destroying all infringing products. The injunction may be granted if the Foundation is able to prove that ACCG's collars lead to consumer confusion, mistake and deception that are likely to cause irreparable harm to the Foundation.