The Hollywood Reporter, Esq.: Hand Mangling on NBC’s ‘Heroes’ Leads to Trademark Claim
The maker of a garbage disposal device depicted shredding a character’s hand on the pilot episode of the NBC series “Heroes” has sued the studio for trademark infringement and defamation stemming from the broadcast.
The seven-count complaint, filed Monday in federal court in St. Louis on behalf of Emerson Electric Co., manufacturer of the In-Sink-Erator garbage disposal, alleges the show “implies an incorrect and dangerous design for a food waste disposer” and paints the device “in an unsavory light, irreparably tarnishing the product, Emerson’s In-Sink-Erator trademarks, and the associated goodwill.”
The NY Post reports: Heroes cuts: “NBC officials said they did not think there were any legal problems with the show, but will change the offending scene anyway.”
