Hallmark Cards Settles Lawsuit on Copied Designs

Hallmark Cards today agreed to replace a line of greeting cards that had been challenged in a lawsuit by Blue Mountain Arts, a tiny Colorado card company that had accused Hallmark of copying its card design.

The consent decree filed in Denver U.S. District Court ends the legal dispute between the two companies that began when Blue Mountain Arts of Boulder filed a $50-million lawsuit in July, 1986, against Hallmark.

The card war had been scheduled to go to trial Jan. 2 in federal court here. At issue was a line of cards, featuring watercolor art and free-verse messages, which Blue Mountain created and Hallmark allegedly copied.

Under terms of the consent decree, Hallmark will stop publishing its Personal Touch line of cards and take steps to repurchase the cards from Hallmark stores.

The decree also stipulates a monetary settlement, but neither Hallmark nor Blue Mountain would disclose the amount.