These days in Duluth, you can't say 'Downton'

You'll forgive me if I've never watched an episode of "Downton Abbey" -- though I did stumble upon Jimmy Fallon's "Downton Sixby" parody in cramming for this report. Not only was it pretty funny, at 10 minutes it was all I had time for.

Yet I appreciate the series, as well as Masterpiece Theatre in general. Several years ago, I worked at Boston's WGBH-TV, the PBS station that presents it. It was a big deal whenever Alistair Cooke came to town and the crew brought out the bookcase set. The Masterpiece staff was so nice, in fact, they let me borrow a tape of their theme song that I used to shoot a knockoff called "Math Theatre" that I hoped to sell to Sesame Street.

Alas, Alistair Cookie Monster I wasn't, and it never aired.

So I was surprised last week to hear of a far sterner response from Masterpiece directed to the Duluth Public Library.

"We came up with a theme of 'Downton Abbey Days,' and we tied it into their season three," library outreach supervisor Renee Zurn said last week of a series of free events around the show.

"When we did our advertising, we got an email back from someone who told us the 'Downton Abbey' phrase was a trademarked phrase and that we could not use it in our advertising."

Specifically, senior series producer Susanne Simpson wrote: "While we're pleased that you're interested in the show, I'm writing to tell you that you must stop using the title 'Downton Abbey Days.' The name is trademarked and the company that owns the name is not willing to allow its use in this way."

Un-Down-ted, the library obliged and, at Simpson's suggestion, remade posters and ads to say "inspired by Downton Abbey." The events went off without a hitch, including Saturday's Edwardian fashion show.

But they weren't the only ones so inspired. Scores of similar programs have been held around the country -- world, even -- with many flagrantly violating the treasured trademark. Not all got a cease-and-desist letter.

"No, we did not," Ann Wagner said Friday from the Montpelier Mansion Historic Site in Laurel, Md., which hosted a "Downton Abbey Tea" in September that drew 17 fans in costume.

"I'll be darned," she responded when I told her about the name no-no. "It's not like you're trying to steal the show. You're just helping them along by using it as a theme."

Still, she promised not to misuse it again. Zurn, meanwhile, was wondering how Masterpiece got wind of the Duluth library's activities in the first place.

"When we got it, (a colleague) said, 'Renee, look at the email I received. Do we have to call the city attorney on this?'"

I called one for them, Minnesota First Amendment whiz Mark Anfinson, who said while titles generally can't be copyrighted (think of "The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells or Ralph Ellison), titles can be registered as trademarks, especially if big bucks are behind them.

"You can protect them as long as you're using them in commerce," he said, adding: "To bust your local library; that seems a little petty."

My former colleagues confirmed the title understanding.

"The 'Downton Abbey' word mark and logo are trademarks of Carnival Film & Television and are used under license. We're happy for the library to use the Downton Abbey title as a factual statement, in connection with their public screening," a WGBH spokesperson emailed me.

Hence, it has to be 'inspired by Downton Abbey' -- though the library could have avoided all this by naming it for a loose interpretation of narrow Michigan Street at its back door:

Downtown Alley?

Robin Washington is editor of the News Tribune. He may be reached at rwashington@duluthnews.com .