• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, October 24, 2023

A trademark suit filed by Gannett last year has been settled.

The case against City Lifestyle LCC and Lifestyle Publicans LLC was dismissed last Friday following a confidential settlement agreement. The terms were not disclosed, but it is certain that you will run into trouble if you connect the terms “Nashville” and “Lifestyle” in a product in that town

Since its founding by a predecessor in 1999, Gannett’s property Nashville Lifestyle has served as ‘the authority o all things Nashville,” the amended complaint states. It includes a print magazine and website. 

The title draws an average of 100 advertisers per month to its print or online editions. The company has used the mark, Nashville Lifestyles: Magazine of Music City to advertise Nashville Lifestyles magazine. 

In 2019, the defendants  started publishing “local ‘lifestyle’ magazines across the country, the complaint alleges. In 2022, they began offering products and services on their website under the ‘Lifestyle’ name,” it continues.  

Upon demand, the defendants said they removed all references to Downtown Nashville City Lifestyle on their website or other locations, but the name still popped up, Gannett charges.   

In March, the defendants rebranded their social media pages with the name Music City Lifestyle, but Gannett asserts that this, too, will still cause confusion.

In an instance,, a potential advertiser for the defendant “wrote on September 27, 2022, to Nashville Lifestyles to reschedule a call it had scheduled with Defendants, erroneously thinking the call was with Plaintiff,” the Gannett complaint states.  

In June, the two sides informed the court that “settlement discussions have been going on for several months and have resulted in a narrowing of the points of disagreement to three or four issues which are still being negotiated.” 

The case is on file with the U.S. district Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division.