By Joshua Rosenstein, Assistant Editor, JTNews
Every year, for the past nine years, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattles Young Leadership Division has thrown a party on Christmas Eve. They rent out a venue closed for the holiday and put on a fundraising bash called the Matzah Ball. The event caters to young Jewish adults ages 21 to the low 40s, and serves to reunite old friends, forge new connections and raise funds for YLD (as well as the local blood alcohol content). The YLD Matzah Ball has historically drawn over 500 people and brings in as much as $8,000 in funds for the Federation.
This year, in the midst of the final event planning push, however, YLD director Aaron Schwamberg received a cease and desist letter from the Matzo Ball organization in Boston, claiming that the name Matzah Ball was trademarked by their company and that YLD would have to change the name of their event.
MatzoBall.org is a project of the Society of Young Jewish Professionals, Inc., started 18 years ago by Andrew Rudnick of Boston. The proclaimed goals are to develop and strengthen bonds within the Jewish community, to celebrate the Jewish culture by offering events and services specifically for Jewish singles and to create opportunities for networking within the community.
The first thing YLD organizers did was to start doing research. They were unpleasantly surprised to discover that there was more to the story, however.
The letter did not mention the fact that the Matzo Ball organization was planning to hold an event by that name on Dec. 24, in Seattle, said YLD board member and event co-chair Brooke Sidell. We went to research the company and discovered on their Web site that they are expanding their event to Seattle for the first time this year.
Thus began what quickly snowballed into a serious conflict. The initial local response was to change the name of their event to Latkapalooza. They needed to move quickly because invitations were being printed.
The YLD event is now being called Latkapalooza-Matzah Ball, with the event scheduled for Christmas Day this year because Christmas Eve falls on Shabbat.
We are more than willing to work with other groups here, said YLD board president Becki Chandler. But after looking into the issue, they discovered that YLD was actually legally entitled to use the name.
According to Federation lawyers, the trademark registration that SYJP filed was canceled in 1997, then refiled in 1999. YLD has been using the name continuously since 1995.
Because of the Federations continued use of the name prior to SYJPs refiling, the Federations rights are superior within the local market area.
Its a well established principle that if someone has a legal use, prior to a federal trademark registration, their legal use continues within their market area. said Rob Spitzer, the lawyer advising the Federation.
YLD board members then drafted a formal letter to the Young Jewish Professionals to inform them that YLD would hold their event as planned, and asked SYJP, as a for-profit company, to respect YLDs status as a non-profit agency.
We said they are welcome to have their event, but because we have been using the name for so long and people are used to it, we are asking them not to use the name, said Chandler.
Rudnick, however, claims he has not seen this letter, and as far as he is concerned the problem is over.
We sent them a cease and desist order and they ceased and desisted. They knew they had to. Weve had the name Matzo Ball trademarked since 1997, he said. If they use the name Matzo Ball, weve got a problem with them. Its not about being nice. Its about protecting our rights. Thats the way copyright law works: if you dont protect your name, you lose the right to it. If we dont file an injunction, we give up the right to protect our name. We dont like to do this, it costs us time, money and aggravation, but if we dont, well lose our name.
Local organizers say they were disappointed by SYJPs lack of communication.
They didnt even call, they just sent the formal letter, and it was only when we started researching the company that we saw on their Web site that they were planning on having a Matzo Ball in Seattle, said YLDs Schwamberg, who said there is a deeper issue involved.
It is disappointing that their group has chosen to exclude some members of the Jewish community by holding their event on Shabbat. I also think they are misleading people by holding their event in Seattle, on the same day, under the same name we have been using since 1995, said Sidell.
SYJP is not concerned. This will be our first event in Seattle, said Rudnick, We are partnered with J-Date [the online matchmaking company], as you can see on their site. We are planning on launching our organization in Seattle and this is the kickoff. We are anticipating a good turnout.
As for the Federations claim, Rudnick does not feel he is causing a problem for them.
They can have a party, they can do whatever they want, I dont see how this stops them from raising funds for the local community, he said. Ive been using this name for the past 18 years, theyve been using it for eight .Where do you think they got it?
The first year we had the party was 94 and it was called Very Big Party, said Schwamberg, who recently returned to the Seattle area after a several-year absence. The next year it became the Matzah Ball and has been ever since.
Schwamberg has taken the conversation to the national level. He has been in touch with Jewish Federations around the country, and found that many federations have changed the names of their events, although he knows of some that have not. In San Francisco for instance, they now call their event the Latka Ball, he said.
Some of those changes were likely a result of letters from Rudnicks company.
It happens all the time, said Rudnick. We send out four or five cease and desist letters every year and have for the past five years.
Young Jewish Professionals has been expanding its reach each year, according to Jesse Kurn, the companys national events manager in charge of finding new territory for potential Matzo Balls. We wanted to reach out, he said, I know there are other Jewish Balls on the West Coast, but weve been doing this for 18 years, we have name recognition. Theres even a line in a recent Broadway play where one of the actors says she remembers always going to the Matzo Ball to meet young Jewish men.
Schwamberg said this conflict disturbs him on several levels.
I have nothing against the organization, he said. We are both trying to do similar things for the Jewish community. What bothers me is that this is feeling less and less like the Jewish community.
It concerns and upsets me that we cant seem to work together or respect each other, said YLD president Chandler.
She added, however, that the experience has so far resulted in one positive effect: The conflict has really brought the local community together. People are showing a sense of ownership of the local community and taking steps to protect it, she said.
We may not be able to compete with a for-profit company if this turns into a legal battle, Schwamberg said, but what we do have is a lot of loyal, active committee members and volunteers. Seeing how people are going to bat for us is really awesome.