MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee World Festival, Inc., (MWF) the organizer of Summerfest, has filed a trademark lawsuit against the Minnesota Twins for hosting a music festival called "Summer Fest."
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, says the festival's name is "confusingly similar in its entertainment and advertising" to Milwaukee's Summerfest. The Minnesota Twins' festival is set to take place this weekend at Target Field in Minneapolis. According to TC Summer Fest's website, the musicians playing include The Killers, Imagine Dragons, and The Flaming Lips.
The first Summerfest festival in Milwaukee was hosted in 1968, and MWF has owned the federal trademark of Summerfest since 1972. The lawsuit argues "due to the extensive and substantive marketing efforts of MWF" the Summerfest trademarks are "widely recognized by consumers."
The lawsuit says the Twins posted a Facebook advertisement for "Summer Fest" and public comments expressed confusion on whether or not the event was associated with Summerfest. One of those comments included, "Summerfest so nice of you to share your trademarked name with Minneapolis." It also mentions confusion among members of the media.
MWF is asking a judge to ban the team from using the name and pay unspecified damages.
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