NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Thomas O'Keefe has filed a lawsuit against Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, Inc. (a subsidiary of WPP Group plc) (Nasdaq:WPPGY), Digitas, Inc. (Nasdaq:DTAS) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) for, among other things, copyright infringement, trademark infringement and misappropriation of advertising ideas. The lawsuit was filed on August 17, 2006 in federal court in New York (06-CV-6278) and all defendants were served soon after that date.
Thomas O'Keefe is a freelance art director who performs graphic design and advertising services for his clients. He has been using the trademark "My Card, My Work" as an identifier for his services since early 2003. In mid-2003, he registered the domain name www.mycardmywork.com. The Complaint states that upon launching the My Card, My Work website in 2003, Mr. O'Keefe constructed a sample advertising campaign on that site to show the type of campaign he could develop and the outstanding creativity he brought to his clients. Mr. O'Keefe has a registered copyright in that work. The Complaint further states that in late 2003, Mr. O'Keefe sent his resume and work, including all of his material from the My Card, My Work website to both Ogilvy and Digitas, seeking possible retention as an advertising designer or art director.
The Complaint alleges that in mid to late 2004, more than a year after Mr. O'Keefe designed and launched the "My Card, My Work" campaign on his website, American Express, with the help of its advertising agencies, Ogilvy and Digitas (mentioned above) launched American Express's now extremely well-known "My Life, My Card" campaign. According to the Complaint, the defendants not only used a confusingly similar mark to Mr. O'Keefe's "My Card, My Work" trademark, but they copied significant copyrighted expression from Mr. O'Keefe's website and advertising campaign, and misappropriated Mr. O'Keefe's ideas.
The Complaint avers that because of the defendants' actions, Mr. O'Keefe, his trademark, and his business have been damaged in numerous ways, including -- due to the sheer magnitude of American Express's advertising campaign -- clients and potential clients who have confronted Mr. O'Keefe believing that he copied American Express's campaign, as opposed to the other way around. Mr. O'Keefe's Complaint seeks damages as well as an injunction against American Express's continued use of the My Life, My Card campaign.
Lead counsel for Mr. O'Keefe is Brad Newberg of the law firm of Newberg & Winters LLP (www.newbergwinters.com). Mr. Newberg can be reached at 703-714-9530 for those seeking further information.