UNION PACIFIC SUES PHOTOGRAPHER OVER TRAIN CALENDAR:
A photographer with a passion for old trains is being sued by Union Pacific Railway, the largest railway corporation in North America, over a calendar featuring its trains.
Union Pacific - whose red, white and blue logo has red and white stripes just like the U.S. flag - alleges Nils Huxtable violated the company's exclusive right to use its Union Pacific trademark and design by producing and selling a "Union Pacific" calendar.
A website soliciting money for Huxtable's legal defense says "the artistic rights of railroad photographers are under attack." Union Pacific disagrees. Brenda Mainwaring, the company's director of corporate relations, says Union Pacific isn't disputing the right of people to take photographs of its trains, but will take measures to protect its trademark, logo and its name. Mainwaring said the company has authorized more than 100 companies to use its trademark for various products, including calendars, but Huxtable made use of the company name without its permission.
[United Transportation Union, 2-14-06, from Vancouver Sun report by Glenn Bohn]