Geico gripes over gecko
Insurance company famed for the lizard sues Jericho rival for turning its trademark into roadkill
BY JAMES BERNSTEIN
Newsday Staff Writer
April 25, 2006
Geico wants a Long Island competitor's hands off its gecko.
The giant insurance company has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn against a Jericho insurer and its president, claiming the local insurer infringed on Geico's trademark -- that little green talking gecko that stars in radio, print and television ads.
Geico said in a suit filed Friday that Tri-State Consumer Insurance Co. and its president, Penny Hart, deliberately poked fun at the gecko in print and broadcast ads that have been running in the New York market for the past few weeks in an effort to promote Tri-State's own business and "dilute" the trademark.
Geico asked Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein to order Tri-State to stop the ads and is seeking unspecified monetary damages.
In its suit, Geico said that to enhance its trademark rights and solidify its brand image, it developed "a quirky and unique gecko character" to promote its auto insurance business and other products.
"The gecko trademark, including the British-accented voice through which the Geico gecko 'speaks' to consumers, is arbitrary and fanciful," the suit says. Geico said that it has invested "hundreds of millions of dollars in radio and television advertisements" promoting the gecko trademark. Geico said that because of its use of the gecko, the company has "attained one of the highest levels of brand recognition" among consumers for auto insurance.
But Leapin' Lizards! Now, Geico says, along comes the gecko-bashing.
"Using terms such as 'Blimey' and referring to its own accent, this gecko is about to suggest that the audience should switch to Geico when a crashing sound is heard as the gecko (which is specifically referred to as such) is apparently struck down by a skidding car," Geico's suit said. "The gecko's demise is portrayed by an unsavory 'splat' sound."
The suit says that after the "splat" "a gruff voice boldly proclaims 'Enough with the gecko already! You want cuddly cartoon characters, or better rates?'"
Then, the suit says, "The gecko proclaims that 'I'm cute,' but is nevertheless again struck by an automobile apparently driven by the announcer who states 'excuse me' and then squishes the gecko."
Geico said Tri-State, a 21-year-old company that writes about $28 million in insurance business in the New York market, sponsored a print ad in Newsday "showing the body of a gecko lying dead on a road with tire tracks across its body."
The Washington, D.C.-based Geico said that Tri-State's ads have diluted the value of the gecko and that Tri-State has "derived and (will) continue to derive substantial revenue and profits" unless the advertisements are stopped.
Jessie Beeber, Tri-State's attorney, said Monday that Tri-State is fully within its rights to run the ads, which she said do not infringe on Geico's trademark. "Our client is doing exactly what they're allowed to do under the law," Beeber said. "We had hoped Geico would take this with a grain of salt and have a sense of humor about this. They apparently have none."
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