Handbags and the City, a designer purse store in Baltimore's Harbor East, is changing its name under threat of legal action from the HBO-show-turned-movie. In a few weeks, it will become Handbags in the City.
Not since the art school formerly known as the Maryland Institute, College of Art morphed into Maryland Institute College of Art has so much Sturm und Drang wrought such a subtle name change.
George Sakellaris opened his shop about two years ago near Whole Foods, selling the sort of pricey bags that might inspire Carrie , Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda to open same.
The HBO copyright squad came calling about a year later, claiming that the name and typeface were too close to the show's. (Like the HBO hit, the store spells its name all in caps, with "and" and "the" stacked atop each other in smaller uppercase type.)
"I never had anything in the store pertaining to the show," he said. "They can't win because they can't trademark 'and the City' and they can't trademark Times Roman. But what they can do is aggravate you because they have more money than God."
HBO spokesman Jeff Cusson said he could not discuss the particulars of the case. He offered this much: "When HBO sees a business infringing too closely on the trademark, we take steps to prevent that from happening."
Sakellaris said he and HBO reached a compromise that also managed to answer that old Schoolhouse Rock question, "Conjunction Junction, what's your function?": Getting entertainment lawyers off your back. They agreed to swap "and" for "in" back in December.
Can't tell it by the sign out front, which still reads "and." The new one, which Sakellaris said HBO is paying for, goes up in about three weeks, when the store moves to a bigger space around the corner, right by the theater playing you-know-what.
Come and get him; he's on wheels
HBO is not through with Charm City. Now it's going after Segs in the City.
Bill Main got his first letter from an HBO lawyer April 1, telling him to change the name of his five-year-old Segway tour company, which operates in Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington and Gettysburg.
"I said, 'This is an April Fool's joke. Someone's having a lend of us.' " (He's British.)
More letters and e-mails followed. The most recent arrived Monday from Sharon Ceresnie, a Chicago-based lawyer for HBO. She directed me to HBO's Cusson, whose response to all things trademark-related can be read above.
