Several months ago, we wrote of the legal battle between Robert Burck, a/k/a The Naked Cowboy, and Sandra Brodsky, a/k/a Sandy Kane, a/k/a The Naked Cowgirl. (See Legal Fight At The Times Square Corral.) Well good news, the two cowpersons have agreed to settle their differences.
For the benefit of those readers who somehow missed our previous blog, and are fortunate enough not to frequent Times Square, New York, Mr. Burck is an “entertainer” – we use this term advisedly – who frequents the Square dressed in a cowboy hat and boots and underpants, playing a guitar and generally making a nuisance of himself. Ms. Brodsky, a sexagenarian former stripper, also frequents the Square, dressed in a cowgirl hat and boots and a sequined bikini, playing a guitar and generally making a nuisance of herself.
Mr. Burck, who has registered the trademark “The Naked Cowboy” and now franchises the mark to others who wish to play the guitar and make a general nuisance of themselves while braving the elements in a state of undress, offered Ms. Brodsky a license ($5,000 per year or $500 per month). When she declined his offer, he sued.
As noted above, the parties have resolved their differences. Under their settlement agreement, Ms. Brodsky may continue to use the term “Naked Cowgirl,” without any payment to Mr. Burck, as long as she uses it in conjunction with her own name. Unfortunately, she successfully avoided Mr. Burck’s initial demand that she agree not to perform topless and that she cease “flipping the bird” to passersby in Times Square. So, New York’s loss is Sandra’s gain.
Now that he has cleared the decks of this matter, Mr. Burck is free to focus his attentions on a recently filed suit against CBS Corp. over an episode of “The Bold And The Beautiful” which featured a “drunk and sexually charged” character dressed n Mr. Burck’s signature garb. Mr. Burck offered CBS a license for $150,000. When CBS rejected this offer, he sued, claiming $1.5 MILLION in damages for the “unwanted exposure” – this from a man whose fame rests on “exposure”! A CBS spokeswoman, who clearly enjoys a pun, said “[w]e chose to respond with the bare minimum to the plaintiff’s naked allegations.”
Previously, Mr. Burck sued the Mars candy company for $6 MILLION over an animated billboard at the M&M World store in – where else – Times Square. The billboard featured a blue M&M wearing a cowboy hat and boots and white underpants. With Mr. Burck’s image now indelibly planted in our mind, we may never eat another M&M.