(Adds Red Cross comments, stores where sold, November ruling)
By Leslie Gevirtz
NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - The American Red Cross can continue to use its iconic emblem, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, in a case that pitted Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N> against the humanitarian organization and four of its licensees.
J&J, which also uses the symbol, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan against the American Red Cross and four of the charity's licensees, seeking to prevent them from using the "Greek red cross on a white ground," claiming that it is a trademark violation and that the humanitarian group was barred from using it for commercial purposes.
But U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff disagreed, noting that the American Red Cross had used the emblem for more than a century and was authorized to do so by various Geneva Conventions and the U.S. Congress.
In his 34-page decision, Judge Rakoff said the "real question" was whether the permission given by U.S. statute to the American Red Cross to use its logo included commercial purposes. The judge ruled the answer was yes.
The American Red Cross and its partners use the logo on products including first aid, health, safety and emergency preparedness products sold in U.S. retailers such as Target Corp <TGT.N>, Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N>, Walgreen Co <WAG.N> and CVS Caremark Corp <CVS.N>.
The organization says the money it receives from the sales is reinvested in its humanitarian work.
Judge Rakoff left intact only a part of the suit that contends the American Red Cross purposefully interfered with J&J's business relationship with two of the four companies.
The American Red Cross entered into licensing agreements with Learning Curve International Inc <RCRC.O> and three privately held companies: Magla Products LLC, Water-Jel Technologies Inc and First Aid Only Inc.
In return for using the red cross on their packaging and websites, the companies pay the American Red Cross a fee or percentage of their sales. J&J had a similar arrangement with the American Red Cross in the 1980s, the judge found.
"The proceeds from the sale of the products are reinvested in our humanitarian services," American Red Cross spokeswoman Suzy DeFrancis said. "We receive a very small amount of revenue from this."
The American Red Cross filed a countersuit claiming J&J was the one violating trademark law, but the judge noted that the 120-year-old company's right to use the red cross was protected by a grandfather clause.
He also dismissed the American Red Cross's contention that Johnson & Johnson could use the red cross on products only for the same purpose it did before 1905.
"If ARC (American Red Cross) were correct that J&J could only sell kits containing exactly the same products as those sold prior to 1905, J&J would be constrained to continue forever selling kits that contain such antiquated products as cat gut ligatures and kidney plasters," the judge ruled.
His order allows J&J to proceed to trial against the American Red Cross for interfering with its contracts with Water-Jel and First Aid Only and also the four companies' counterclaims against J&J.
"We are pleased that the court upheld J&J's use of its Red Cross trademark over the past century as entirely appropriate under federal law," the company said in a statement.
"We are disappointed that the court rejected our claims involving ARC's commercial uses of the emblem. We are reviewing the decision and look forward to continuing this process to resolve our legal dispute with the American Red Cross."
Mary Elcano, American Red Cross's chief executive, said she read the judge's ruling "with great delight."
"It is our hope that J&J would drop the case, and let us be about the mission of the Red Cross ... We're the same ones that are responding to the hurricanes and tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest in the past couple of weeks. We're the same ones that are helping the Chinese Red Cross and trying to get relief into Myanmar," Elcano said.
In November, the same judge limited the scope of another claim to allegations of interference with J&J's economic relations with Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreen and CVS. The products have been on store shelves throughout the dispute.
The four companies did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. (Reporting by Leslie Gevirtz; Editing by Brian Moss, Gary Hill)
((leslie.gevirtz@thomsonreuters.com; +1 212 393 9461)) Keywords: JOHNSONANDJOHNSON/REDCROSS
LOS ANGELES, May 15 (Reuters) - The Screen Actors Guild and major Hollywood studios agreed to return to the bargaining table by May 28 to resume contract talks that broke off more than a week ago, sources close to the talks said on Thursday.
The studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, cut off three weeks of negotiations on May 6, saying talks had been "thrust into reverse" by "unreasonable demands" from the union.
The studios turned then to separate contract talks with SAG's smaller sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, widely seen as more likely to get a labor deal quickly.
The exact timing for renewed SAG negotiations hinges on how soon it takes AFTRA and the studios to reach a settlement, but SAG and the studios have agreed to restart their bargaining by May 28 at the latest, the sources said.
The abrupt break-off in their talks last week stoked Hollywood labor jitters after a 100-day screenwriters strike that ended in February. (Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte) ((steve.gorman@reuters.com; +1 213-955-6761; Reuters Messaging: steve.gorman.reuters.com@reuters.net; Los Angeles bureau)) ((please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)) Keywords: ACTORS/HOLLYWOOD
May 15 (Reuters) - The upcoming "Sex and the City" movie is a marketing bonanza for companies ranging from Mercedes-Benz to the designer handbag-renting Web site Bag Borrow or Steal.
But Hollywood has long struck deals with companies for product placement in films and television series. Following are some examples:
* Last year comedian Jerry Seinfeld returned to his old television network NBC for a guest spot on the sitcom "30 Rock." The star of the NBC mega-hit "Seinfeld" got a prime-time plug for his animated film "Bee Movie" written right into the story line of the "30 Rock" season premiere.
* Companies worldwide paid almost $3.4 billion in 2006 to have their merchandise appear in television shows and movies, reflecting the increasing popularity of product placement, according to a report.
* In 2006 Ford Motor Co <F.N.> vehicles appeared in films ranging from director Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" to British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," according to Brandchannel, an online magazine about branding.
* J. Barbour & Sons Ltd -- whose products bear the royal warrants of Queen Elizabeth and heir Prince Charles -- said it was happily taken by surprise when its Beaufort jackets flew off the shelves of its New York shop after one appeared on actress Helen Mirren in her role as the British monarch in the 2006 movie "The Queen."
* The 2002 James Bond movie "Die Another Day" was for some critics an extended advertisement as 20 companies paid a total of $70 million to have their fast cars and expensive watches featured.
* In one scene in "Casino Royale," the 21st installment of the movie franchise, James Bond pursued an adversary in a four-wheel bulldozer supplied by Fiat <FIA.MI>, the Italian industrial group. Ford also used the 2006 movie to promote the Aston Martin, which was driven by Bond after he was behind the wheel of a BMW 750 iL in previous adventures.
* Alcoa Inc. <AA.N> managed to get a full 30-second ad, plus numerous on-screen plugs and dialogue mentions, in George Clooney's movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" -- all without paying a dime. Alcoa, then formally called the Aluminum Company of America, was the sponsor of Edward R. Murrow's news program, "See It Now," in the 1950s.
* PepsiCo Inc. <PEP.N>, in terms of product placement on the big screen, outranked every other brand on the planet in 2004. Brandcameo awarded its top tongue-in-cheek "accolade" to the maker of Pepsi, Aquafina and Mountain Dew after the Pepsi brand featured in one in five No. 1 U.S. movie box-office hits. Featuring in movies such as "Alien vs. Predator" and "Dodgeball," Pepsi beat arch-rival Coca-Cola <KO.N> and its ubiquitous Coke brand into second place, where it tied with Motorola <MOT.N> and Nike <NKE.N>.
* Product placement really took off at the seminal moment in Steven Spielberg's 1982 classic, "E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial," when the protagonist alien consumes a trail of Reese's Pieces that leads him to the house of the boy who befriends him. Sales of the Hershey <HSY.N> treat soared. (Writing by Paul Grant, Washington Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by Xavier Briand) ((paul.grant@reuters.com; +202 789 8015 Reuters Messaging: paul.grant.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: SEXANDTHECITY/
By Jennifer Coogan
NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - U.S.-listed shares of overseas companies rose on Thursday, led by gains in Japanese and South Korean names after a handful of surprisingly strong quarterly results lifted optimism about the region.
The Bank of New York Mellon's index of leading American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) <.BKADR> was up 1.2 percent while the 30-share Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 0.3 percent at 12,936.67.
Among the regional benchmarks, the Bank of New York Mellon's index of leading Asian ADRs <.BKAS> was the top gainer, rising 1.6 percent. In Asia, major benchmarks in Tokyo, Seoul and Taiwan ended at multimonth highs, while the main indexes in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed lower.
Mizuho Financial Group <MFG.N>, Japan's second-largest bank, reported its first quarterly loss in five years on bad subprime-related investments, but the company forecast a rebound, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 6.8 percent to $10.60.
Rival Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <MTU.N> gained 2.8 percent to $10.43 a day after a newspaper reported that the No. 1 Japanese bank might have suffered up to $3.8 billion in credit-crisis losses.
South Korean ADRs were trading higher after Samsung <005930.KS> and LG Electronics <066570.KS> gave upbeat earnings outlooks.
U.S.-listed shares of Kookmin Bank <KB.N> rose 1.6 percent to $64.52 and Woori Finance <WF.N> gained 1.9 percent to $59.58 on the NYSE.
The biggest gainer from the region were Posco <PKX.N> ADRs, which gained 7.3 percent to $141.67 on speculation the recent earthquake in China will increase demand for steel.
The Bank of New York Mellon's index of leading European ADRs <.BKEUR> was up 1 percent. In Europe, shares closed the session higher.
British confectioner Cadbury Plc <CBY.N> said it expects a bigger-than-expected boost to its first-half profit margins, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 3.7 percent to $52.68 on the NYSE.
U.S.-listed shares of Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG <NVS.N> were up 1.9 percent to $51.07 after Societe Generale lifted its price target on the locally traded shares.
Receipts with the Bank of New York Mellon's index of leading Latin American ADRs <.BKLA> rose 1.1 percent. In Latin America, major benchmarks were all trading higher.
Brazilian miner Vale <RIO.N> rose 2.7 percent to $41.61 on the NYSE on a jump in the price of copper and other industrial metals. (Reporting by Jennifer Coogan; Editing by Tom Hals) ((jennifer.coogan@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 646-223-6125; Reuters Messaging: jennifer.coogan.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News: http://topnews.reuters.com))
Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS ADRS
By Scott Hillis
SAN FRANCISCO, May 15 (Reuters Life!) - Nintendo is finally bringing original downloadable games to its popular Wii video game console.
Nintendo's small white box is the smash hit of the video game industry, thanks to its easy-to-grasp controls and simple games that appeal to a broader audience.
But the Wii has lagged Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 in offering original games that can be downloaded right from the couch for as little as $5.
That has changed this week with the U.S. launch of WiiWare, a service that Nintendo says lets game makers experiment with quirky ideas that can be brought to fruition for a fraction of the cost of a regular title.
"The possibilities are great -- many of the most addictive and enjoyable games on Xbox 360 and PS3 are turning out to be the little downloads made by fledgling studios, and giving the power of the Wii controller set to these hungry, creative types will hopefully take the indie gaming movement further," video game news site IGN said earlier this year.
After debuting in Japan earlier this year, the service launched in the United States on Monday, with six new titles ranging from the familiar to the off-beat.
For example, one game is a simulation set in the familiar "Final Fantasy" franchise, while another is "LostWinds", a critically acclaimed adventure in which players use gusts of wind to explore a world and fight enemies.
"WiiWare provides a low-risk environment where developers can create a wide array of compact games for consumers to enjoy at different price points," Tom Prata, senior director of project development at Nintendo of America, said in an e-mail interview.
Games like these are a small but an important piece of the industry these days as consumers show a passion for new experiences, whether in the form of a $180 set of faux musical instruments, or a $5 game played for a few minutes at a time.
Microsoft's Xbox Live has hundreds of downloadable games from the "Uno" card game to "N+", a ninja adventure with doodle-like graphics. Sony's PlayStation Network is getting attention with unique fare like "Echochrome", a series of spatial puzzles.
The service showcases for "indie" games that traditionally might not get made or would linger in some corner of the Internet, undiscovered by the majority of gamers.
"I really do feel that Nintendo democratized gaming with Wii and making it accessible to everyone, and I believe we'll democratize distribution," Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo America's executive vice president for sales and marketing, told Reuters in March. (Reporting by Scott Hillis; editing by Patricia Reaney) ((scott.hillis@thomsonreuters.com; +1 415 677 2505; Reuters Messaging: scott.hillis.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: VIDEOGAMES/
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