Victory for the Naked Cowboy! (Sorta)

We don’t know about you, but our faith in the American justice system has been restored: Today, judge Denny Chin granted that the Naked Cowboy may well have a point in his lawsuit against Mars, Inc., and specifically that blue M&M who ripped off his look by appearing on a Times Square billboard strumming a guitar in his skivvies. One point. Not the six or seven he was trying to make. But still.

Chin threw out the cowboy’s claims that his likeness had been used without permission, saying that it wasn’t exactly his likeness, but a parody. Basically, he was like, you’re a joke, Cowboy, deal with it — kind of harsh, but whatever, when you consider he allowed the Naked Cowboy to walk away clothed in a shred of dignity:

The complaint plausibly argues that consumers would believe that the M&M cowboy characters were promoting a product rather than merely parodying the Naked Cowboy, and that viewers would believe the Naked Cowboy had endorsed M&Ms. Hence, the complaint has alleged sufficient facts to support a false endorsement claim.

Thus, the NC is allowed to proceed with his $6 million suit, and gets one step closer to drifting down a caramel river on a fluffy bed of nougat.

Naked Cowboy will get his day in court [Judgment via National Post]
Earlier: Naked Cowboy Wins First Battle Against M&M