Talk Radio Slogan Belongs to KABC, U.S. Judge Rules

A federal court judge has ordered KFI-AM (640) to stop using the slogan “Talk Radio” in conjunction with its call letters as of this morning, ruling that the trademark belongs to rival all-talk station KABC-AM (790).

U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Gadbois suggested in his ruling made public Friday that KFI may have been taking advantage of the proximity of the stations’ dial positions and that “KFI knowingly took the name ‘Talk Radio’ in an effort to appropriate the fruits of KABC’s long-term and successful efforts to promote the name ‘KABC Talk Radio.’ ”

In enjoining KFI from using the term, Gadbois said: “KABC . . . has spent 17 years and a lot of money promoting its slogan, and it has achieved very significant product identification. KFI has been using its slogan for only a few weeks.”

“We’re very pleased,” said John Rook, KABC program director. “The judge obviously studied the case and got to the real crux of the problem.”

KABC, which filed suit against KFI on April 3, has said that it adopted its all-talk format in 1960 and in 1972 “invented and adopted the trademark.” KFI claimed that the term was generic.

Officials at KFI did not interpret Gadbois’ ruling as a victory for KABC, they said, because it does not prevent them from using the phrase on its own, without the call letters.

In July, 1988, KFI’s identifying slogan was “Talkin’ Southern California.” In March, 1989, it began using “Talk Radio.”