A battle over banana costumes continues in federal court with one manufacturer under order to stop selling full-body banana suits because they likely infringe another’s valid copyright.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Aug. 1 affirmed a lower court’s order stopping Kangaroo Manufacturing Inc. from selling banana costumes that are confusingly similar to plaintiff Rasta Imposta’s copyrighted design. Rasta’s copyright is valid because it didn’t “monopolize the underlying idea” of a banana, the court said.
The ruling highlights how courts are applying the test the U.S. Supreme Court’s laid out in Star Athletica LLC v. Varsity Brands ...