'Zappanale' wins in court against Gail Zappa
A German court has ruled that the Zappanale, a festival that celebrates
the legend of rock music of Frank Zappa, does not infringe the trade mark
held by his widow Gail Zappa. The mustache and soul patch can stay, too.

The Frank Zappa festival in Bad Doberan, Germany, known as the
Zappanale may continue. This is the verdict reached by a court of
Düsseldorf, Wednesday. In addition, the festival can continue to use
logo depicting the American rock star single face, his mustache-soul patch combo.

DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
A giant bust of Frank Zappa with the center of Bad Doberan in northern Germany.
Frank Zappa's widow Gail Zappa, filed the suit in early 2008, because
of what it saw as an infringement of trademark Zappa. He cited the
ARF Society which organizes the annual Zappanale near the Baltic Sea
coast and sells merchandise with its logo Zappa, for
€ 150,000 ($ 193,000), plus a further € 250,000 compensation in case of
Zappa Zappanale continue selling the merchandise.

But the court noted that the Wednesday Zappa Family Trust, which is
directed by Gail Zappa, was unable to prove that it actively uses its
brand in Germany, the requirement for such cases to win.
Moreover, the differences between the official logo and Zappa
used by the Zappanale, the court ruled, were sufficient to prevent the confusion of the two.

Thomas Dippel, who heads the ARF Society, told the German press agency
DPA, which was "very satisfied" with the verdict and says it is
waiting for the 20th anniversary of the Festival this summer.
The Zappanale started as a small underground party in East Germany
1989 and now attracts fans from around the world for its blend of
Zappa cover band and "Zappa-esque rock," as he calls it Dippel.
In 2008, almost 10,000 fans showed up.

The case centered on trademark infringement, but said Gail Zappa
SPIEGEL ONLINE last April that he was particularly concerned that the
Zappanale not been adequately true for the music of Frank Zappa. "My
obligation that can not be relieved by someone other than Frank
Zappa, is to protect the integrity of purpose and his music, "he said.
"This is my job. I have no choice."
Gail Zappa has been active in its pursuit of this mission
recent years, presented to satisfy a number of Web sites selling Zappa unauthorized goods.
Frank Zappa died of cancer in 1993.