NEW NAMEPLATE FOR MOORE’S NEWSPAPER

Mary Tyler Moore’s new CBS sitcom, once set in a fictional, third-rate newspaper called the Chicago Post, will premiere as scheduled Wednesday--but with all references to the Post deleted, a spokesman for her production company said Monday.

The action was taken after the co-owners of a monthly newspaper called the Chicago Post took legal action against MTM Enterprises Inc., maker of Moore’s new “Mary,” for allegedly using the paper’s name without permission.

A complaint alleging trademark infringement was filed Friday in U.S. District Court, and a temporary order barring broadcasts of “Mary” was also sought, said Robert Levy, attorney for owners of the Chicago Post.

However, shortly before a hearing on that request, MTM attorneys filed an affidavit saying that the name of the program’s fictional newspaper--where Moore works as a consumer-help columnist--would be changed, Levy said.

Levy said that the new name wasn’t specified in the affidavit. He said that his clients, Chicago Vice Mayor Richard Mell and businessman James Boratyn, probably now will drop their complaint, which had sought $2 million in damages.

Mell, who said his newspaper (soon to become bimonthly) is distributed free and has a circulation of 40,000, said he had turned down two offers of a financial settlement--the second and highest was an offer of $75,000 from MTM.