'Buckyballs' Lawsuit May Limit Use of Celebrity Name

The plaintiff in the case of The Estate of Buckminster Fuller v. Maxfield & Oberton Holdings, LLC, U.S. District Court Northern District of California, San Jose Division, Case No.: 5:12-CV-02570-LHK, 11/05/12 Order denying motion to dismiss, is the successor in interest to the rights of Richard Buckminster Fuller, the famous scientist who discovered the Carbon-50 molecule named after him as “Buckminsterfullerene” or “Buckyball.” Plaintiff controls rights to several variations of Fuller's name, including “Bucky Fuller.” The Defendant manufactures and sells the popular desk toy named “Buckyballs” and several other toys that incorporate the “Bucky” prefix, such as “Buckycubes” and “BuckyBlocks.” Throughout Defendant's literature, it refers to Fuller and his discovery. In 2011, Plaintiff had granted Defendant a limited license to use Fuller's name and likeness in connection with a specific limited edition of its “Buckyball” toy.

In this action, Plaintiff seeks an injunction and damages, stating causes of action under the Lanham Act, California privacy statutes, and California unfair competition law. In analyzing the motion to dismiss, the court presumed the plaintiff's allegations in the complaint to be true. Even though the decision cannot be taken as dispositive of the actual facts in this case, it remains instructive for those seeking to enforce their rights of publicity and trademark rights.