Kids’ Museum Can’t Duck Rival’s Suit Alleging Copied ‘Aesthetic’

A Washington state children’s play museum’s owners can’t escape a trademark lawsuit claiming it infringed the all-white, minimalist interior aesthetic of a competing facility.

Play Street Museum’s owners, PSM Holdings LLC and PSM Worldwide LLC, sufficiently alleged the Chicky Play Museum infringed its trade dress, according to an order issued Wednesday in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright denied the November motion to dismiss filed by Chicky Play owners Tiny Town LLC, Surapha Nelson, and Lucas Nelson, writing that the similarities between the museums “are unmistakable” despite minor differences.

Play Street opened ...