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Thursday, September 22, 2005
All that Jack can land you in court, especially when imitators get too close
If you operate a radio station, and you decide its format will consist of a mishmash of musical artists and styles that you summarize as "playing what we want," and you decide to brand this new format with the catchy moniker of "Jack," you might be getting a call or letter from Derek Newman.
Newman is a Seattle attorney who is representing SparkNet Communications Ltd., a joint venture between two media and broadcast consultancies, Bohn & Associates Media of Vancouver and Wall Media of Nashville.
SparkNet holds the exclusive U.S. rights to the Jack format, which got its start at a Vancouver station in 2002. Thanks to the splash and ratings success generated by Jack, the format and its marketing has been licensed to several radio groups around the country, including Infinity Broadcasting, which has put Jack on KJAQ-FM (96.5) in Seattle.
SparkNet also has obtained trademarks on Jack and the "playing what we want" slogan.
The success of the Jack format has spawned a wave of imitators under a variety of names (there's even a country version known as Hank).
"Those are knockoffs," Newman says. "It's not unlawful, what they're doing. It's fair competition."
But when SparkNet believes a station's knockoff comes uncomfortably close, it will contact that station offering to work with it to come up with an alternative, Newman says. If that doesn't work, legal action is next, and it has been going to court around the country to defend its trademarks. For example, it has challenges pending against three Clear Channel stations.
Newman says SparkNet is "almost a pioneer in protecting intellectual property rights" in radio, an industry he says has been lax in defending trademarks.
"The radio industry has this perception trademarks don't matter," he says. He believes that's a product of the days when radio was far more locally owned and operated, and there was less crossover of marketing campaigns. But with industry trends including Internet radio (which allows stations to be heard anywhere), as well as ownership consolidation, "Trademarks have become a lot more important."
Not everyone sees things SparkNet's way. Earlier this month, a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois ruled in favor of Bonneville International Corp. in a trademark infringement case SparkNet filed. The judge ruled that Bonneville's use of the slogans "whatever we feel like" and "whatever we want" didn't constitute infringement, adding, "This battle is better fought in the marketplace than in the court. ... If every radio station that adopts a slogan containing one or more overlapping words, which describe the music they play, is brought into court, only the lawyers will benefit."
Newman knows about radio beyond handling legal cases involving the industry. He has worked as a disc jockey and traffic reporter, hosted a show on talk radio in Seattle and currently does "The First Amendment Minute," updates on legal issues that air on KOMO-AM (1000) and KVI-AM (570).
In other radio notes:
P-I sports columnist Art Thiel joins Steve Krueger each Friday beginning Oct. 7. Former Seattle Times business writer Greg Heberlein will be interviewed by Dave Meyer on Thursdays starting Oct. 6. The interviews air on their respective days at 5:30 and 7:30 a.m. and 4:45 p.m.
KPLU also said it is extending "All Things Considered" to 6:30 p.m. beginning Monday, replacing "Marketplace."
RADIO STATIONS
| AM STATIONS | ||
| Freq. | Format | |
| KVI | 570 | Talk |
| KCIS | 630 | Christian |
| KIRO | 710 | News/Talk |
| KTTH | 770 | Talk |
| KGNW | 820 | Christian |
| KIXI | 880 | Nostalgic pop hits |
| KJR | 950 | Sports/Talk |
| KOMO | 1000 | News |
| KBLE | 1050 | Religious |
| KPTK | 1090 | Air America |
| KKNW | 1150 | News/Talk |
| KDDS | 1210 | Spanish |
| KKDZ | 1250 | Radio Disney |
| KKOL | 1300 | Talk |
| KKMO | 1360 | Spanish |
| KRKO | 1380 | News/Talk |
| KRIZ | 1420 | Classic soul/R&B |
| KXPA | 1540 | Spanish |
| KLFE | 1590 | Christian |
| KYIZ | 1620 | Urban contemporary |
| KTFH | 1680 | Spanish |
| FM STATIONS | ||
| KPLU | 88.5 | Jazz/News |
| KNHC | 89.5 | Top 40/Dance |
| KGRG | 89.9 | Alternative rock |
| KEXP | 90.3 | Alternative/ World music |
| KSER | 90.7 | Public affairs/Music |
| KBCS | 91.3 | Jazz/Folk/World |
| KLSY | 92.5 | Adult contemporary |
| KUBE | 93.3 | Urban contemporary |
| KMPS | 94.1 | Country |
| KUOW | 94.9 | News/NPR |
| KJR | 95.7 | Classic rock hits |
| KJAQ | 96.5 | Rock/pop hits |
| KBSG | 97.3 | Oldies |
| KING | 98.1 | Classical |
| KWJZ | 98.9 | Smooth jazz |
| KISW | 99.9 | Rock |
| KQBZ | 100.7 | Talk |
| KPLZ | 101.5 | Adult contemporary |
| KZOK | 102.5 | Classic rock |
| KMTT | 103.7 | Adult alternative |
| KMIH | 104.5 | Contemporary hits |
| KFNK | 104.9 | Rock |
| KCMS | 105.3 | Contemporary Christian |
| KBKS | 106.1 | Contemporary hits |
| KRWM | 106.9 | Soft rock |
| KNDD | 107.7 | Modern rock |
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