Tony La Russa, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, is up in arms over the fact that someone other than him tweeted under his likeness and that Twitter permitted it. In fact, he’s so pissed that he’s taking Twitter to court.
So what’s the fuss all about? Apparently the individual tweeting as Tony La Russa (@tonylarussa was removed after the lawsuit was filed) made statements that the real Tony didn’t appreciate. So he’s suing Twitter and the causes of action include trademark infringement, trademark dilution, cybersquatting, misappropriation of name and likeness, invasion of privacy, and intentional misrepresentation.
As Exhibit A demonstrates, the fake La Russa had all of four followers (just think of how many people know about this story now) and tweeted with a few obscenities and inappropriate remarks that are understandably offensive. We can also see, however, that the Twitterer in question wasn’t masquerading as La Russa, but instead a very obvious fake. The bio reads, “Bio Parodies are fun for everyone.”
According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the complaint for damages states, “As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s actions as stated herein, Plaintiff (La Russa) has suffered significant emotional distress, damage to his reputation, and damage to the goodwill of his mark.”
Story: June 3rd, 2009 | by Jennifer Van Grove from Mashable.com
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