Better Call Saul is being sued by Liberty Tax Service for alleged trade dress and trademark infringement.
The company, whose corporate name is JTH Tax LLC, is suing AMC Networks Inc. and Sony Pictures over episode two of season six titled 'Sweet Liberty Tax Service'.
Liberty Tax Service claims that the episode uses 'an obvious imitation of an actual Liberty Tax location, but twisted to paint Liberty Tax in a negative and disparaging light'.
In that specific episode of the Breaking Bad spin-off, AMC apparently use Liberty Tax's registered trademarks, which include the Statue of Liberty logo and inflatable sculpture - all without permission, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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The 'full causes of action' are; Federal trademark infringement; federal trade dress infringement; trademark and trade dress dilution; defamation; disparagement and injurious falsehoods.
UNILAD has contacted AMC and Sony Pictures for comment.
The suit, which has been obtained by Bloomberg, reads: "In Episode 2, the eponymous, Saul Goodman (aka Jimmy McGill), goes to “Sweet Liberty Tax Services,” which is operated by a convicted felon and his wife, the Kettlemans.
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"The show depicts “Sweet Liberty Tax Services” as an actual Liberty Tax location by copying Liberty Tax’s registered trademarks and Statue of Liberty-themed trade dress.
"At “Sweet Liberty Tax Service,” which is housed in a trailer in the New Mexico desert, there is an inflatable Statue of Liberty outside, in addition to the office itself, which is a moniker of the American Flag, and signage, “Sweet Liberty Tax Service"."
It continues: "On the inside, there is a Statue of Liberty mural on the wall, along with numerous Lady Liberty’s throughout the location.
"As fans of the series know, the Kettlemans are not running a legitimate tax preparation business, but instead, are fraudulently stealing customer refunds, as revealed when Saul’s wife, Kim Wexler, threatens to call the IRS to shut them down.
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"The Kettlemans have a checkered past, previously appearing in Episode 4, Season 1 of Better Call Saul, in which they bribed Saul not to turn them in for embezzlement.
"Ironically, Saul used the bribe money to advertise his new law firm on a billboard that mimicked the trademark and trade dress of his old law firm, Hamlin Hamlin & McGill (“HHM”)."
The suit also says: "HHM sued Saul for trademark infringement and the judge sided with HHM, finding that the fair use doctrine did not apply.
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"Out of all the names Defendants could have used for the tax business portrayed in Episode 2, they decided not to be original at all, but instead rip off the famous Liberty Tax trademarks, which have been used for over 25 years, and mimic an actual Liberty Tax location just by adding the word “Sweet” in front of Liberty Tax’s trademark."
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Anish Vij