The Halloween Costume Copyright Wars Are Going Bananas
Lawsuits over the annual $9.1 billion commercial holiday are stretching the limits of intellectual property law.
Photographer: Seth Wenig/AP Photo
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This Halloween, you’ll probably see someone in a banana suit. Yes, he or she will be outfitted in a bright yellow costume, their face filling a hole in the middle of the fruit as arms and legs poke through the polyester peel. Hilarious.
Turns out, those bananas are big money, so much so that one seller has gone to federal court to defend its banana designs. The phrase “banana suit” now has a dual meaning thanks to a complaint filed in New Jersey federal court. Silvertop Associates, Inc., a costume manufacturer which does business as Rasta Imposta, sued Kmart Corp. and Sears Holding Corp. on Wednesday, alleging copyright infringement, trade dress infringement, and unfair competition.