On Monday, Huffington Post launched its newest feature, a column about parenting called Parentlode and authored by Lisa Belkin, a longtime writer for The New York
Times.
That same day, NYT fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Huffington Post, arguing that the name "Parentlode" is too similar to the name
the NYT used for the blog Belkin authored -- Motherlode. The NYT
gave the Huffington Post until Thursday to respond or face potential legal action, says spokesperson Eileen Murphy.
“We believe that the Huffington Post is
intentionally trying to confuse the issue and associate themselves with the blog that originated at The New York Times,” Murphy says. She adds that the
NYT plans to continue publishing the 3-year-old "Motherlode" blog, despite Belkin's departure. The newspaper has applied to trademark the term
Motherlode.
A spokesperson for AOL's Huffington Post said the company has no plans to change the name of Parentlode.
Belkin says in her inaugural Huffington Post column that the name Parentlode better reflects the column's subject matter.
“For three years, I have fielded reader emails about how 'Motherlode' doesn't really fit in an era when fathers are every bit the parent,” she wrote. “For three years, I have
answered those emails by saying that a brand is a brand, and the NYT wasn't inclined to change this one, but if I were choosing today, I would choose
something more inclusive. Seems I AM choosing today. So welcome to 'Parentlode.' ”
But courts might not see that
distinction as meaningful. Trademark lawyer Martin Schwimmer says that the NYT's trademark claim appears plausible, given the names' similarities.
“It's not inconceivable that someone will confuse the two,” he says.