Miss Universe Producer Sues Crown Makers

Miss Universe Producer Sues Crown Makers

The producer of the Miss Universe pageant has sued the Czech company hired to make the winners’ iconic crowns, saying it kept touting its association with the pageant even after it breached its 10-year sponsorship agreement.

IMG Universe, whose parent company bought the pageant from Donald Trump in 2015 for an undisclosed price, said it cancelled Diamonds International Corp’s (DIC) contract last August after financial problems caused the Prague-based company to miss two required payments.

According to the NAN, DIC, kept advertising its ties to the pageant, including on its website where it displayed its logo atop the pageant name.

IMG said in its complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that Miss Universe trademarks are “famous and distinctive,” and DIC’s use of them deceived the public and caused “substantial and irreparable harm” to the pageant,

The lawsuit, however, seeks triple damages for the alleged trademark infringement, 2.04 million dollars of contractual payments, and unspecified damages for breaching the sponsorship agreement, which was to run from 2015 to 2024.

IMG Universe also produces the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.

Its parent, the talent agency William Morris Endeavor, known as WME/IMG, bought the Miss Universe Organization from Trump in September 2015 for an undisclosed price few days after Trump bought NBC Universal’s 50 percent stake, giving him full ownership.