## Facts

- In 1988, Morgan Creek Productions, Inc. released the feature film *Young Guns*, about six teenage gun fighters who band together to fight for justice.
- The film used young actors and contemporary elements, including modern themes, language, and rock music.
- Morgan Creek’s advertising for *Young Guns* included a poster showing a photograph of the six principal protagonists in Western costume, with the title *Young Guns* and the phrase “Six Reasons Why the West Was Wild” prominently displayed.
- In 1989, Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. began airing the television series *The Young Riders*, about six teenage Pony Express riders who band together to fight for justice.
- The series likewise used young actors and contemporary elements, including modern themes, language, and rock music.
- One advertisement for *The Young Riders* consisted of a poster showing a photograph of the principal cast in Western costume, with the title *The Young Riders* and the phrase “When the West was Young and Wild” prominently displayed.
- Morgan Creek sued Capital Cities/ABC under the Lanham Act, alleging the *Young Riders* poster created a likelihood of consumer confusion with *Young Guns*.
- Capital Cities/ABC moved for summary judgment.

## Issues

1. Whether Morgan Creek’s *Young Guns* poster elements—including the “Six Reasons Why the West Was Wild” phrase and the overall poster presentation—were protectable as a trademark and/or trade dress under Lanham Act § 43(a).
2. Whether Capital Cities/ABC’s *The Young Riders* poster was likely to cause confusion as to source, sponsorship, or affiliation with Morgan Creek or *Young Guns*.
3. Whether Morgan Creek produced enough evidence to survive summary judgment on distinctiveness/secondary meaning and likelihood of confusion.

## Decision

- The court granted Capital Cities/ABC’s motion for summary judgment.
- The court concluded Morgan Creek did not show a protectable Lanham Act interest in the asserted poster slogan/trade dress and, in any event, failed to raise a triable issue of likelihood of confusion.
- Judgment was entered for Capital Cities/ABC on Morgan Creek’s Lanham Act claim.

## Legal Principles

- A plaintiff asserting rights in advertising trade dress must show the claimed overall look and feel functions as a source identifier (not merely as decorative or thematic content) and is sufficiently distinctive (often through secondary meaning).
- Short advertising phrases and slogans that use common genre or descriptive terms are typically weak as marks and require strong proof of acquired distinctiveness to be protected.
- Similarity in general themes, subject matter, or conventional visual treatment (such as Western costuming and group-cast imagery) does not, by itself, establish protectable trade dress or trademark infringement.
- Likelihood of confusion must be supported by evidence from which a reasonable factfinder could conclude consumers would mistakenly believe the works or their advertising share a source, sponsorship, or affiliation; absent such evidence, summary judgment may be appropriate.

## Conclusion

In *Morgan Creek Productions, Inc. v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.*, Morgan Creek claimed that a *The Young Riders* advertisement unlawfully copied the *Young Guns* poster’s cast photo styling and “West”/“Young”/“Wild” phrasing, creating consumer confusion under the Lanham Act. The court resolved the case at summary judgment for Capital Cities/ABC, finding Morgan Creek lacked a protectable Lanham Act interest in the asserted poster slogan/trade dress and failed to raise a triable issue that the challenged poster was likely to confuse viewers about source, sponsorship, or affiliation.


Morgan Creek Productions, Inc. v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., 1991 WL 352619 (1991)