Quite Frankly: Madden, Barkley Reps Threaten Dish Network

View Dish Network's Spot Featuring Frank Caliendo

Dish Network last month "quietly asked" the U.S. District Court for Colorado to declare an ad campaign featuring parodies of NBC's John Madden and TNT's Charles Barkley "does not violate trademark or common law rights," according to CABLEFAX DAILY. Dish filed the complaint because reps of both Madden and Barkley "have threatened imminent legal action" over the campaign, which features comedian Frank Caliendo reprising imitations from his "Frank TV" show. Dish told the court the spots, "do not create any likelihood of confusion, or suggest or imply that [Madden] or [Barkley] sponsor or promote Dish Network." Caliendo, "who is ID'd as a comedian in the spots," appears as himself beside the characters he is impersonating "who tout Dish products." Caliendo also portrays President Bush and actor Al Pacino in the campaign, but neither were mentioned in the court filing (CABLEFAX DAILY, 3/18).