Dispute over ‘unauthorised’ elephant image

The California branch of the Republican Party has filed a trademark lawsuit against a political campaign group ahead of an election in a district of California’s State Senate.

In a lawsuit filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of California, the California Republican Party (CRP) accused the Asian American Small Business Political Action Committee of unlawfully using its “iconic” trademarked elephant image.

The dispute centres on the election campaign in California’s 7th State Senate district, one of 40 districts within the state’s Senate.

The CRP claimed that the committee had sent two “deceptive” mail-outs to potential Republican voters that encouraged them to vote for Micheala Hertle, a Republican candidate who had in fact withdrawn from the election before the leaflets were sent.

According to the CRP, the nature of the mail-outs, which were sent on February 23 and March 2, amounted to “fraud” and “intellectual property theft”.

Their sending was also an attempt to “unlawfully suppress and divert the votes of Republican voters”, the CRP said.

The Republican Party’s elephant insignia, which was printed multiple times on the leaflets, features a red-and-blue elephant with stars on its upper back. It was first registered by the Republican Party at the US Patent and Trademark Office in 1969.

In its complaint, the CRP said: “The elephant insignia trademark is commonly used in Republican politics throughout the US. Moreover, it has acquired secondary meaning through its use, for decades, in California and national political discourse to signify the Republican Party’s official imprimatur.”

The CRP, which filed the lawsuit on March 5, is seeking injunctive relief, monetary damages, treble damages for wiful infringement, and fees and costs associated with the lawsuit.

In a statement, Harmeet Dhillon, the CRP’s vice chair, said: “This lawsuit [is] about protecting our property, but more importantly protecting the integrity of the political process and the rights of California voters not to be misled by blatant misconduct of this nature.

“We will pursue legal action against individuals and organisations who deceptively use our trademarked images without our authorisation.”

The election is on Tuesday, March 17.

A spokesman for the committee said: "AASB PAC's mail designer purchased the image in question from a stock image vendor. Purchase of the image included rights to use."