MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) — Forget the small-town belief in letting bygones be bygones.
The star of “The Andy Griffith Show,” who portrayed the sheriff of the fictional town of Mayberry, has sued a Wisconsin man who unsuccessfully ran for the Grant County post after legally changing his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith.
The lawsuit, filed November 3 in U.S. District Court in Madison, alleges that William Harold Fenrick, 42, violated trademark and copyright laws, as well as the privacy of actor Andy Samuel Griffith, when he used his new name to promote his candidacy for sheriff in southwestern Wisconsin.
The lawsuit says the former Fenrick changed his name for the “sole purpose of taking advantage of Griffith’s notoriety in an attempt to gain votes.” It asks the court to order him to go back to his original name.
The actor’s lawsuit also asks Griffith to publish disclaimers and an apology in Grant County newspapers that say he has no association with the actor. It seeks unspecified damages and court fees.
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) — Forget the small-town belief in letting bygones be bygones.
The star of “The Andy Griffith Show,” who portrayed the sheriff of the fictional town of Mayberry, has sued a Wisconsin man who unsuccessfully ran for the Grant County post after legally changing his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith.
The lawsuit, filed November 3 in U.S. District Court in Madison, alleges that William Harold Fenrick, 42, violated trademark and copyright laws, as well as the privacy of actor Andy Samuel Griffith, when he used his new name to promote his candidacy for sheriff in southwestern Wisconsin.
The lawsuit says the former Fenrick changed his name for the “sole purpose of taking advantage of Griffith’s notoriety in an attempt to gain votes.” It asks the court to order him to go back to his original name.
The actor’s lawsuit also asks Griffith to publish disclaimers and an apology in Grant County newspapers that say he has no association with the actor. It seeks unspecified damages and court fees.
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) — Forget the small-town belief in letting bygones be bygones.
The star of “The Andy Griffith Show,” who portrayed the sheriff of the fictional town of Mayberry, has sued a Wisconsin man who unsuccessfully ran for the Grant County post after legally changing his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith.
The lawsuit, filed November 3 in U.S. District Court in Madison, alleges that William Harold Fenrick, 42, violated trademark and copyright laws, as well as the privacy of actor Andy Samuel Griffith, when he used his new name to promote his candidacy for sheriff in southwestern Wisconsin.
The lawsuit says the former Fenrick changed his name for the “sole purpose of taking advantage of Griffith’s notoriety in an attempt to gain votes.” It asks the court to order him to go back to his original name.
The actor’s lawsuit also asks Griffith to publish disclaimers and an apology in Grant County newspapers that say he has no association with the actor. It seeks unspecified damages and court fees.
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