## Facts

- Isabel Manning Hewson Kirkland created and authored a story titled “Land of the Lost,” later used for a radio program broadcast from 1943 to 1948.
- During the radio program’s run, children formed “Land of the Lost” clubs, which ceased functioning before January 1954.
- The property had additional commercial uses (e.g., comic books, a record album, a book, and cartoons), including a partial copyright assignment to Paramount for certain exploitation.
- After the late 1940s, Kirkland did not meaningfully continue exploiting “Land of the Lost,” and the name lay dormant for many years.
- In September 1974, NBC began broadcasting a Saturday-morning children’s television series titled “Land of the Lost,” continuing thereafter.
- NBC’s series involved two teenagers and their father traveling through a “time vortex” into a prehistoric world, differing from Kirkland’s earlier thematic concept.
- After NBC publicized the new program in 1974, correspondence occurred between Kirkland (through counsel) and NBC’s parent company, but no resolution was reached.
- Kirkland filed a Pennsylvania common-law unfair competition action on February 26, 1975, alleging NBC’s use of the title infringed her proprietary rights in the name.
- Following discovery, NBC moved for summary judgment, asserting the title was not protectable by Kirkland due to abandonment and lack of continuing public association.

## Issues

1. Whether Kirkland retained protectable common-law rights in the title “Land of the Lost” for children’s entertainment programming despite decades of nonuse.
2. Whether NBC was entitled to summary judgment because there was no genuine dispute of material fact that any proprietary interest in the title had been abandoned and no longer carried source-identifying significance.

## Decision

- The court granted NBC’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the unfair competition claim.
- The court held that Kirkland had abandoned any proprietary rights in the title “Land of the Lost” through prolonged nonuse.
- The court found the record lacked admissible evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact that the title still possessed secondary meaning associating it with Kirkland at the time of NBC’s use.
- The court noted the substantial differences between the works’ concepts, which further weakened any claim that NBC’s program traded on Kirkland’s goodwill.

## Legal Principles

- Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; the nonmovant must produce admissible evidence, not merely rely on pleading allegations.
- Under common-law unfair competition and related trademark principles, protectable rights in a name or title depend on continued use and ongoing public association with a source.
- Prolonged nonuse, coupled with no meaningful showing of intent or actions to resume use, supports a finding of abandonment that extinguishes proprietary rights in the name.
- A plaintiff asserting exclusive rights in a title must show the title has acquired and retained secondary meaning in the relevant market; absent such current public association, unfair competition liability does not attach.

## Conclusion

The court entered judgment for NBC because Kirkland’s long period of inactivity amounted to abandonment of any protectable interest in the “Land of the Lost” title, and the record did not support a triable claim that the title still identified Kirkland as a source when NBC adopted it for a distinct children’s television series.


Kirkland v. National Broad. Co., 425 F. Supp. 1111 (E.D. Pa. 1976)