Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is now facing some legal trouble over a backpack. It was alleged that the latest Lucasfilm blockbuster used a product without permission, as well as misled viewers into thinking it belonged to its competitor.
A lawsuit was filed in a Californian District Court by the backpack company, Frost River. According to the court files obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, it is alleged that Lucasfilm and Filson participated in deceptive marketing by claiming that the backpack Indiana Jones carried in the film was designed by them. Frost River claimed that it didn’t give permission for Lucasfilm to use its products, nor to misrepresent them to promote its competitor through various advertising.
“Lucasfilm used Frost River’s products in Indiana Jones 5 without consulting Frost River or obtaining permission to do so. Lucasfilm and Filson, a direct competitor of Frost River, then engaged in a joint marketing campaign, including national television commercial advertising, that featured clips of Indiana Jones wearing Frost River’s products, including the Geologist Pack. Indeed, Lucasfilm and Filson were so brazen in their marketing and disregard for Frost River’s rights to its intellectual property, that they used clips of Indiana Jones wearing Frost River’s Geologist Packon Filson’s own website.”
Frost River alleges that Lucasfilm violated trademark law and the Lanham Act for “misappropriating their products.” This law dictates that it is prohibited to reproduce the work “with a false description or attribution as to its creator” and that it also extends to “false representations made by implication or innuendo.” The company also alleged that “two-corporate juggernauts” exploited its intellectual property and the hard work of “a small American company.”
“Lucasfilm and Filson’s unauthorized use of Frost River’s products in the Indiana Jones 5 film, and in the joint marketing campaign, is a classic example of “reverse passing off” whereby a competitor removes a product’s trademarks and then attempts to “pass it off” as their own product.”
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has a reported budget between $300-400 million. Unfortunately, not even Indiana Jones could save Disney from its box office troubles after it earned over $60 million during its domestic opening. The joint ad campaign is still available on the Filson website, where it featured clips from the film intertwined with their products.
Neither Lucasfilm nor Filson commented on the lawsuit, and it’s unknown if there will be a court hearing.
