Lee Wins Temporary Halt to Spike TV
NEW YORK – Spike Lee has temporarily spiked Spike TV.
A Manhattan judge on Thursday granted Lee’s petition and ordered Viacom Inc. to stop using Spike TV as the new name for its TNN network, pending a trial on the issue.
State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub ordered Lee to post a $500,000 bond to cover Viacom’s losses in case the company wins.
Viacom announced the name change in April as part of its transformation of TNN into “the first network for men.” Spike TV shows reruns of “The A-Team,” “Baywatch” and “Miami Vice,” sports entertainment such as pro wrestling and “American Gladiators” — plus an animated series featuring Pamela Anderson as the voice of Stan Lee’s “Stripperella,” an undercover operative who is also a stripper.
Lee, whose numerous directing credits include “Malcolm X” and “Do the Right Thing,” said he sued Viacom to protect his name from a deliberate attempt to capitalize on his image and prestige.
Viacom’s lawyers said Lee cannot prove their network’s new name refers to him. And they said no New York law gives a celebrity’s first name the protection Lee is seeking without some other suggestion of the person’s persona.
But the judge disagreed.
“Contrary to defendants’ position, the court is of the opinion that in the age of mass communication, a celebrity can in fact establish a vested right in the use of only their first name or a surname,” the judge wrote. “There are many celebrities that are so recognized, including Cher, Madonna, Sting and Liza.”
He also said the name protection would probably be available if a network proposed a program called the “Cronkite News Hour.”
Lee’s lawyer, Johnnie Cochran, said, “We’re obviously elated. We had a good judge who looked at the law and at the facts.”
Dan Martinsen, spokesman for the network, said Viacom would appeal immediately and seek a stay of the judge’s order. “We respectfully disagree with the judge’s decision, which was not supported by the law or the evidence,” Martinsen said.
Viacom, which bought TNN in 2000, also owns the CBS, VH1 and UPN networks, the Showtime movie channel and book publisher Simon & Schuster.
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