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The famous La-Z-Boy/DWI chair has sold for $30,000 less than it was going to sell for on Monday. Should La-Z-Boy have backed off?

In case you aren't familiar with the story, a man was arrested for driving a motorized chair while drunk. The police seized it and were selling it on eBay. They had bids of more than $40,000, but then La-Z-Boy stepped in and claimed copyright infringement because their trademarked name was used in the title of the auction. The chair was relisted and has sold for $10,000, so the taxpayers are out $30,000.

TMZ story here: http://www.tmz.com/2009/11/06/dwi-racing-chair-sells-for-a-30-000-loss/
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keepontryi...
keepontryi...
Marked as Best! November 06, 2009 11:35 AM
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Supreme_Court_of_Justice_-_Colombia.jpg

If I were La-Z-Boy I would trust my legal department on this and if they said I should protect my Trademark, I would take their word for it. On the other hand, if I were La-Z-boy, I would make a donation to cover the difference in the two bids. Everybody wins. Trademrk is protected, Taxpayers get an equal donation, bidder gets a better deal. Lets all sit down for bar-b-que (so long as that doesn't bug anyone's trademark lawyers).

You gotta admit, these chairs look like a blast!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElH9S8eGw_c
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