Playboy told to rewrite Sable headline
NEW YORK (AP) -- Playboy magazine will have to do some retouching for an upcoming issue featuring the wrestler Sable.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska on Wednesday said the Oct. 19 edition, which features nude pictures of Rena Mero, the ex-World Wrestling Federation women's champion, infringes on WWF trademark rights.
A lawyer for the WWF, Terrence Budd, said the magazine headline -- The Woman You Loved as Sable in the Raw -- was an obvious reference to the WWF's trademarked and copyrighted Raw cable television program.
A lawyer for Playboy said the judge's decision means the magazine will have to reprint 500,000 copies.
"We were very disappointed with the judge's ruling," Playboy lawyer David Francescani said.
The WWF filed a lawsuit Monday, alleging Playboy violated its trademark rights and created a sex-kitten Sable image.
Mero, who is married to WWF wrestler "Marvelous" Marc Mero, filed a $110-million lawsuit against the WWF in June alleging sexual degradation, among other things.
