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Home » Law In Travel » American Airlines Drops Lawsuit Over Logo
American AirlinesLaw In Travel

American Airlines Drops Lawsuit Over Logo

Matthew Klint Posted onNovember 19, 2018November 14, 2023 5 Comments

a white airplane on a runway

American Airlines has dropped its lawsuit against the United States Copyright Office…at least for now.

Last month, I wrote about American Airlines’ lawsuit against the U.S. Copyright Office for failing to grant copyright protection to its logo.

> Read More: American Airlines Mocked By Regulators, Now Suing Them

The U.S. Supreme Court held in 1991 that copyright protection requires “a minimal degree of creativity”. Addressing the AA application, the U.S Copyright Office held that AA lacked even such a minimal degree of creativity:

The creative spark is utterly lacking or so trivial as to be virtually nonexistent…While the bar for creativity is low, it does exist and the Work cannot glide over even its low heights.

AA did not like this answer, viewing it as arbitrary and mean-spirited. Its lawsuit sought to compel the office to reconsider.

Responding to the litigation, the U.S. Copyright Office has agreed to “re-open” the AA application. In response, AA dropped its lawsuit.

CONCLUSION

As I predicted last month, AA will likely ultimately prevail. The Copyright Office could not have been clearer in its opinion that the AA logo lacked the elements necessary for copyright protection. The AA logo has not changed at all: the only thing that has changed is legal pressure from AA. Look for the U.S. Copyright Office to grant copyright protection to AA to shut the carrier up, not because it believes it was wrong in it is initial assessment.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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5 Comments

  1. brandon Reply
    November 19, 2018 at 10:07 am

    When someone doesn’t get their way. Bitch, complain and sue. Then you will get what you want.

  2. Howard Reply
    November 19, 2018 at 11:04 am

    “The creative spark is utterly lacking or so trivial as to be virtually nonexistent…While the bar for creativity is low, it does exist and the Work cannot glide over even its low heights.”

    I love this quote, describes AA, and quite frankly most airlines, to a T.

    And I think the case is likely to remain open for a looong time – perpetual limbo if you will

  3. S Reply
    November 19, 2018 at 11:32 am

    Hi Matt, any news on the Aeroplan-Swiss fiasco…? It´s been a while…

    • Matthew Reply
      November 19, 2018 at 11:34 am

      Not yet.

  4. Pingback: Airline Charging for Tickets Passengers Don't Buy and Mileage-Earning Bill Pay Service Gets Big Funding - View from the Wing

Leave a Reply to Howard Cancel reply

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