Salem News and Lizzie Borden, Who Owns Her?

A new article posted on August 9, 2008, in the Salem News, on the lawsuit filed against The True Story of Lizzie Borden in Salem, Massachusetts, by the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum.

Lizzie Borden B&B wants Salem attraction to ax the name
By Chris Cassidy
STAFF WRITER

SALEM — It hasn’t even opened yet, but the new Lizzie Borden museum is already facing its first legal whack.

The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River is suing the owner of Salem’s Borden attraction for trademark infringement.

Businessman Leonard Pickel is planning to open “The True Story of Lizzie Borden,” a museum dedicated to retelling the story of the Borden murders of 1892.

But the owners of the Fall River home where the murders took place — now a bed-and-breakfast — are taking some swings at the new venture.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, accuses Pickel of federal trademark infringement for using the term “Lizzie Borden Museum,” for which the Fall River bed-and-breakfast claims to hold the registered trademark.

The suit claims Pickel has been using “virtually identical names.” Pickel had originally called the business “The True Story of Lizzie Borden Gift Shop and Museum.”

Pickel’s museum also owns the Web site www.lizziebordenmuseum.com and [email protected].

Bed-and-breakfast owner Donald Woods declined to comment on the lawsuit. A message left for Woods’ attorney was not returned yesterday.

But Pickel denied any trademark infringement.

“We wouldn’t have even started this if we thought we were in violation,” he said.

Pickel said his business no longer uses the words “museum and gift shop” in its name and has shortened it to “The True Story of Lizzie Borden.”

He bought the rights to the Web site lizziebordenmuseum.com before the bed-and-breakfast was awarded the registered trademark to Lizzie Borden Museum, he said.

“There are Holocaust museums all over the world,” Pickel said. “There’s no reason there couldn’t be Lizzie Borden museums not just in Fall River. As far as I’m concerned, it’s restraint of trade to say the one in Fall River can be the only one.”

If anything, his Borden business would help Fall River tourism by directing curious visitors to the actual sites, he said.

“The sad part about the whole thing is we’re going to draw people to Fall River,” Pickel said. “… They’re afraid we’re stealing a piece of their pie. In reality, we’re growing the size of their pie.”

The lawsuit contends customers are likely to think Pickel’s museum is affiliated with the Fall River bed-and-breakfast because of the similar names.

It also claims visitors are already confused. Multiple times, tourists have questioned the bed-and-breakfast’s tour guides about the connection between the two museums, the lawsuit claims.

A negative reaction to the Salem museum could significantly harm the Fall River bed-and-breakfast’s business, according to the lawsuit.

Pickel’s Borden museum had been scheduled to open Aug. 4, the 116th anniversary of the Borden murders. However, construction delays thwarted the grand opening.

Now the lawsuit is adding other problems.

“I guess it really comes down to who owns Lizzie Borden,” Pickel said.