NBCUniversal Launches Lawsuit Over Fictional Firm From ‘The Office’

If you’re a fan of The Office, you’d be familiar with Dunder Mifflin, the name of the fictional paper business run in the show. 

Now, NBCUniversal has filed a lawsuit against a “trademark squatter” company, the Jay Kennette Media Group, for allegedly infringing on the name’s trademark, saying the firm has “built a business based on registering trademarks belonging to others” and caused “consumer confusion.” 

The lawsuit states that the media group had registered “Dunder Mifflin” with the US Patent and Trademark Office six years prior, and began selling hoodies, T-shirts, and other merchandise associated with the faux firm, as well as other trademarks from the series Friday Night Lights and Gravity Falls.

As per Deadline, NBCU found out about the firm when its bid to register the trademark was rejected in 2020, and it is in the process of appealing the decision via the lawsuit, which would take away the right for Jay Kennette Media Group to use the name or sell anymore apparel. 

The television channel is also seeking for an unspecified sum of damages, and the return of all profits of the sale of “Dunder Mifflin” merchandise.

[via Deadline and Spectrum News 1, cover image via NBC]