Press Release
EliotFeld’s Ballet Tech Is Rightful Owner of all JOYCE Theater Trademarks After Five-Year Legal Battle
New York, December 17, 2008- Ballet Tech Foundation, Inc. (www.ballettech.org), the dance company and ballet school for New York City public school children founded by renowned choreographer Eliot Feld, has been confirmed as the rightful owner of all trademarks associated with the world-famous JOYCE Theater. The ruling was made on December 11 by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The victory was announced by Kenyon and Kenyon LLP (www.kenyon.com), the intellectual property law firm representing Ballet Tech, which began in 1974 when Feld founded a professional dance company, then known as the Eliot Feld Ballet. Feld created the ballet school for New York City public school children in 1978.
In 1979, Ballet Tech purchased the Elgin Theater, an old movie house located at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 19th Street in Manhattan, with the goal of turning it into a performance theater for small- and medium-sized dance companies. Ballet Tech formed Joyce Theater Foundation to operate the theater in accordance with Ballet Tech’s goals, and renamed the theater the “JOYCE” in honor of the late daughter of Ballet Tech’s principal benefactor, LuEsther Mertz.
The Joyce Theater Foundation registered “JOYCE” as its own trademark, without notifying Ballet Tech. When Ballet Tech discovered this in 2003, it initiated proceedings at the TTAB to confirm that it is the true owner of the “JOYCE” name.
In its opinion, the TTAB stated that Ballet Tech “is the owner of the JOYCE marks and that [Joyce Theater Foundation] is using the JOYCE marks pursuant to an implied license. The TTAB pointed out that Ballet Tech purchased the Elgin Theater, did all the work raising the funds and renovating the theater, and “took all the risk involved in the undertaking.”
Ballet Tech was represented by a team of Kenyon & Kenyon attorneys led by partner Jonathan D. Reichman and counsel William M. Merone.
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