AAA settles lawsuit against A24 over 'AAA24' loyalty program

June 5 (Reuters) - Movie and television studio A24 has resolved a lawsuit from the American Automobile Association (AAA) that accused A24's "AAA24" film-buff discount program of infringing its trademarks, according to a filing on Wednesday in New York federal court.

AAA and A24 told the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that they settled their dispute and asked to dismiss the case with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled.

An A24 spokesperson declined to comment. Representatives for AAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment and for more information about the settlement.

A24, the entertainment company behind films including Academy Award winner "Everything Everywhere All at Once," began offering its "AAA24" program in 2022 with member benefits including discounts, merchandise and access to bonus content.

AAA, a nonprofit group of U.S. motor clubs, sued A24 in March, alleging that AAA24 would cause confusion with its own membership benefits program.

The lawsuit said that A24 intended to falsely associate its program with AAA. AAA said A24 advertised that its customers can become "card-carrying" AAA24 members, evoking AAA's membership-card program, and that the design company that developed AAA24's branding said it meant for the name to have an "enigmatic subversive twist."

AAA asked the court to block A24's use of the AAA24 name and requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages.

A24 has not responded to the allegations in court.

The case is American Automobile Association Inc v. A24 Films LLC, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:24-cv-01598.