WHY FILES DRAW FOX FIRE

by Lisa Shuchman

Conspiracy theorists could have a field day with this one. The University of Wisconsin has run afoul of Twentieth Century Fox for its nonprofit science education site The Why Files, which packages news stories and cool graphics to demystify science in an entertaining way.

Sounds innocent enough, but Fox is accusing the university of infringing on its X-Files trademark, even though the Why Files logo (which the school has licensed) looks nothing like the TV show logo. "It dilutes the distinctiveness of the X-Files name," says New York attorney and Fox outside counsel Dale Cendali. Cendali declined to say whether a site called the "Be Files" or the "See Files" would also provoke a legal challenge.

The charge does not sit well with the university, which wrote in a letter that handing over the name "would betray [the university's] principle of academic freedom and its obligation to create and disseminate information." Fox offered to license the name back to the school at no charge, but the school refused. "If anyone deserves antidilution protection, it's us," says university attorney Benjamin Griffiths, noting that the site has won numerous awards and is better known in Web-based academic circles than any Fox trademark.

The dispute could end up in the courts. Meanwhile, Why Files editor Terry Devitt wonders if Fox believes it has a lock on the alphabet.

Lisa Shuchman is a reporter for The Industry Standard.

Why Files Draw Fox Fire, The Industry Standard, Dec. 25, 2000. Reprinted by permission of The Industry Standard: www.thestandard.com.

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