Hallmark Cards, which is headquartered in nearby Kansas City, decided to use Paris Hilton's trademarked phrase "That's Hot" along with an image of her in a waitress uniform - without her permission. Hilton sued two years ago. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled in August that Hilton is a topic of "widespread, public interest." As such, this was a case of protected free speech that allowed Hallmark to use the phrase and her picture.
But the court also ruled that Hallmark could not rely on its use of her likeness as being in the "public interest" because Hallmark was not reporting information, just selling birthday cards. The court said that she could move forward now with her lawsuit against Hallmark on her appropriation of liknesss claim. Hilton's image in the waitress uniform was taken from an episode of Hilton's previous TV series, "The Simple Life." Sounds like Hallmark might lose on the likeness claim. And anyway, isn't Paris Hilton and her "That's Hot" phrase old news today?
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