LV casino sues catalog company in trademark dispute

Friday, May 12, 2000 | 11:12 a.m.

Mirage Resorts Inc., owner of the Golden Nugget hotel-casino, is seeking an injunction to stop the Edge Co. Catalog LLC of Brattleboro, Vt., from distributing catalogs featuring antique-style slot machines emblazoned with the GOLDEN NUGGET logo.

In a U.S. District Court suit, Mirage, which alleged the Edge violated its federally registered GOLDEN NUGGET trademark, seeks an order to force the company to provide information on who painted the GOLDEN NUGGET logo on the slot machines.

Mirage said that although the Edge provided information on the manufacturer's use of the Golden Nugget design, it didn't respond to Mirage's queries for the number of slot machine units that were built and the total number of orders the company has filled to date.

The suit said the Edge, in a Dec. 22 letter to Mirage, said the name Golden Nugget refers to the jackpot being three golden nuggets and doesn't refer to the source of the machines.

But Mirage's attorney, Mark Tratos, disagreed. "While this is a logical explanation ... it rings untrue, because the design emblazoned upon the machine is a replica of the world-famous Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino logo."

The defendant could not be reached for comment.