• The Associated Press via PlainVanillaShell, Thursday, November 30, 2006 11:45 AM

The Greatest Show on Earth is claiming improper use of its trademarks, filing a lawsuit to force a beauty products company to fold up its tent on a holiday pitch. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus went to U.S. District Court in Manhattan against Sephora and its parent company, Paris-based LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA. The suit seeks to stop Sephora advertising which it says uses its trademarks, including the phrase "The Greatest Show on Earth."

It also seeks unspecified damages, relating to profits by the San Francisco-based Sephora or lost business of its own along with $5 million in punitive damages. The circus learned this month that Sephora was using "The Greatest Gift Show on Earth" and other references and designs in its holiday advertising in stores, billboards, catalogs and on the Internet.

Sephora displays circus-style lettering on one Web page that includes a circus monkey and five icons containing links to products, while another animation shows a model that looks like a trapeze artist.

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