In response to a demand that it pay $5 million and cast several artists in the hit TV series Empire, Fox filed a trademark lawsuit on Monday seeking a declaration that it has every right to use the show's title.
A preemptive lawsuit holds risks, as the "Blurred Lines" verdict demonstrates, but on the other hand, Fox might wish to avoid another Glee, which ran into trademark trouble in the U.K. with a judge there basically allowing the owner of a comedy club to assert dominion. In this instance, Fox is suing Empire Distribution, Inc., which is identified as a California corporation that has not only come forward asserting rights to "Empire," "Empire Distribution" and "Empire Recordings" but has also in a demand letter claimed trademark dilution by tarnishment via a series that features "a label run by a homophobic drug dealer prone to murdering his friends."
Fox, of course, sees its Lee Daniels-created show about a feuding entertainment-industry family differently, especially now that it's a massive success, attracting 16.7 million same-day viewers for its season finale. The show has also spawned a soundtrack album that debuted on top of the Billboard 200 chart.
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