# Rin Tin Tin Lawsuit



## annieJ1976 (Aug 31, 2015)

Has anyone seen an article on the internet about a lawsuit in California and some woman getting trademarks on Rin Tin Tin by fraud? I saw it on the desk of an attorney I work for. It was in Courthouse News, Judge Cancels Nine Rin Tin Tin Trademarks.

I remember my mother was a fan of Rin Tin Tin and owned a few German Shepherds over the years as we were growing up. I read the Susan Orleans book about Rin Tin Tin because my mother loved an old TV show about him. I don't understand what this article is saying. How can somebody trademark a dog?


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## angelas (Aug 23, 2003)

You can trademark fictional characters, which is what Rin Tin Tin was. Well, actually copyright. But the principle is the same.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

I hope you did not see the lawsuit paperwork on your attorneys desk and are posting about it. That's a good way to get fired. So hopefully I just misread. 

The name and legacy is trademarked. You cannot use the name. Not sure when it becomes part of public domain. But it is still a working kennel with a "working" Rin Tin Tin. Right now they own the rights to a trademarked name. It's more than a dogs name, it is a business.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

"I hope you did not see the lawsuit paperwork on your attorneys desk and are posting about it. That's a good way to get fired."

exactly what I thought. Same goes with very personal information in a medical clinic .


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Please re read the original post --- the OP saw the article in a legal journal. Which was in an attorney's office.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

News Story Here:
CNS Archives


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Yep I saw it. Find it hysterical actually. Ms Hereford has a long history of suing everyone for anything regarding RTT. She has been proven wrong in court more than once.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

this whole Rin Tin Tin thing is sad and stupid .

" Furthermore, though her puppies came from a dog that sometimes appeared in the 1950's television series "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin," they were not descended from the original Rin Tin Tin, Birotte said."

" Army Lt. Lee Duncan found the original Rin Tin Tin in a litter of puppies in France while serving during World War I. He brought her home and wrote the first Rin Tin Tin movie, "Where North Begins," a 1923 silent film so popular that some have credited it with saving Warner Bros. Rin Tin Tin and her descendants have starred in at least 27 movies, a 1950s TV show, and a best-selling nonfiction 2012 book by Susan Orlean. A museum is devoted to the dog in Texas. Hereford has claimed in a court that a dog in the Rin Tin Tin bloodline can bring as much as $50,000"

how much of the 1923 RTT do you think is kept in the genetics -- the RTT would be so overwhelmed with newer inbred , linebred lines that it has no logical , rational , sense to glom onto the RTT fame.

$50,000 , there is your answer . This is why there are court cases . If the pups were normal price it wouldn't be a consideration.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

What would be interesting would be to uncover what the original French farmer was breeding in 1914-1918 during WW I. Any musing as to what kind of dogs those might have been, Carmen? Old herding lines?


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Remember that the breed was quite young then (1914-1918)


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

For anyone who hasn't seen what the original 1923 Rin Tin Tin looked like, here's a link to the silent film (with French/Spanish):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXVfDim2GfM


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

It is entirely reasonable to expect the original 1918 Rin Tin Tin to have a herding background . The French did use dogs for herding , a little different in style to the German boundary style . Driving sheep into the fields , then back and night to the barns, containing them in unfenced fields, or moveable 3 sided pens , or through areas of traffic keeping them collected and moving along in an orderly manner. The French even developed their own herding breed , the Beauceron working in the northern plains of France , which I believe is where RTT came from - Fleury. 

Notice in the 1923 video how medium to small sized Rin Tin Tin is ? So much for the old fashioned big dogs. This is a good working size . 
Rin Tin Tin was a dark sable . Later in the 50's TV and promotional material he is shown as a very light , slight to no mask, black and tan dog.
In my collection of GSD collectibles I have a vintage
Rin Tin Tin plush toy with tag Reliable Canada "
88489​​​​- RIN TIN TIN​
 Approx.​​​​211/2" Truly a favourite! This​
 famous​​​​T.V, and movie dog is all softly​
 stuffed,​​​​threetore smooth plush with sculptured​
 soft vinyl​​​​head, detailed with Rin​
Tin​​​​Tin's own appearance, has vinyl collar​
with​​​​name and leash. Also a colourful​
identification string tag."


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

I tried to edit information but took too long so here goes.

The Rin Tin Tin vintage stuffed plush toy with rubber head and red collar with Rin Tin Tin in white print . Tag - Reliable Toys . This is a light headed GSD with faint mask and "blanket back" black and tan colouration. Era 1955 - 59? 

from a newspaper article ""The dogs today are identical in color and structure; they have the trademark Rin Tin Tin head. The proof is in the progeny — look at them," she said sitting in her museum and pointing to photos and postcards of her dogs, Rin Tin Tin VI through Rin Tin Tin X.








or this

By Linda Cole
Rin Tin Tin is probably the most recognized and famous German Shepherd dog of all time. In the 112 year history of the breed, his bloodline is the oldest continuous line and has remained relatively unchanged over the years. 

and here's Rinty .....










not one scintilla of resemblance to the "german" dog found in the fields of war in Lorraine , part of the territory traded back and forth as spoils of war , depending upon who won - Alsace-Lorraine , from which Alsation as a name for the GSD was derived.

The two dogs posed with the woman look like American line dogs , which makes sense because the breeding program incorporates American lines to enhance pigment , bone, topline -- basically conformation, again very far removed from the original Rin Tin Tin's structure , size, athleticism.

what is wrong with my eyes ?

sample pedigree http://www.hollywooddogs.com/LilRin/RinIXPed.pdf

my opinion, $50,000 --- give me a break


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