Caesar’s Ghost : Casino Came, Saw, Conquered in Store-Name Conflict

It’s still a palace, but it’s not Caesar’s anymore.

Julius Caesar Lambretchs, a Burbank carpet store owner, said he wanted his business to bear his own name. And carpet store or carpet center or even carpet emporium just wouldn’t do.

“I wanted a palace,” Lambretchs said.

On July 3, Caesar’s Carpet Palace opened its doors on Hollywood Way.

The problem was that the name of Lambretchs’ carpet business, which was prominently displayed atop his building, bore a close resemblance to the name of a famous Las Vegas hotel and casino, Caesars Palace.

Threatened to Sue

It took less than a month for the hotel corporation to threaten to sue Lambretchs for copyright infringement unless he found another name for his business.

As Lambretchs tells the story:

“One of the Caesars Palace big shots passed by the store on his way to the airport a month after we opened. He sent a photographer to take a picture of the name. Then we got the letter saying our business interfered with their business because they have a trademark on the name Caesars Palace.”

As a spokesman for Caesars World Inc., parent company of Caesars Palace, tells it:

“We pointed out that there is the likelihood on the part of the consumer to believe there is an association between Caesars Palace and their carpet establishment. . . . If you are driving down the street and see a logo on a building that is the same as Caesars Palace, since it is a world-famous place, the public could become confused. We do have the name patented and registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.”

Faced $15,000 Fee

Lambretchs said he called his attorney, who said she was willing to fight the issue in court--for a fee of about $15,000.

Lambretchs thought hard about this.

“I kept asking myself: Why is a big company worried about a small store? How could anyone mistake a Burbank carpet store with a Las Vegas gambling casino?”

He said that 80% of his customers call him Caesar. His business cards carry the name Julius Caesar. His wife calls him Julius.

“Don’t I have a right to use my own name on my own business?” he asked. Then, Lambretchs said, he thought about the cost of litigation, contrasted with the cost of changing signs.

“I don’t have the money,” Lambretchs concluded.

So what once was Caesar’s, is now Julius’s.

Julius’s Carpet Palace, that is.