The headline certainly makes Post sound bad, but the article makes them seem much more reasonable.<p>Post was planning to release some on-the-go versions of their cereals under a brand called "OK GO!" This seems like a pretty reasonable thing to do. I certainly don't feel like they chose that name for the purpose of somehow confusing consumers into thinking their cereal was related to the band (nor can I imagine anyone accidentally making that mistake).<p>OK Go apparently threatened to sue Post ("Post said OK Go had been quietly threatening to sue for months, claiming that the company had infringed the trademark rights to the band’s name by launching the new on-the-go packages earlier this month.), but didn't actually do so. Post filed a lawsuit that didn't request any kind of damages, just preemptively asked the court to rule on whether their new cereal brand infringed on the band's trademark ("Post is seeking what’s known as a “declaratory judgment,” meaning a ruling by a judge that says the company did nothing wrong.).<p>That seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do - there's a dispute over whether Post can use the name, and Post is just trying to get clarity on whether it's okay or not from the court.
Post did not, as the band claims, “steal” the name of the band. Ok go! is a simple, fairly generic expression.<p>At some point in most kids’ lives, they have played games of contest where someone would yell, Ok Go!” If anything, this expression resonates more with kid-focused products like cereal than with a band for non-children.<p>An agreement from both parties where the use of the name is fair for each seems reasonable, however. And in the case of a goliath vs a little band, the bigger should contribute more (all) to the legal costs as an offer of goodwill.
> Post will be unfairly forced to continue investing in its new OK GO! brand while under the constant threat of unfounded future litigation by defendants,” the cereal company wrote in its lawsuit.<p>Making Kafka proud!<p>> And he made particular mention that the band had even previously worked with Post itself, releasing a series of promotional videos for Honey Bunches of Oats back in 2011.<p>This is not going to end well for Post. They had a previous business relationship, and then they proactively sue the band to use their name.<p>If they didn't have a previous relationship, it could be argued that they could file with the court that the two were distinct enough that each could use "Ok Go". But now they are kinda fsckd.