Judge Gives KABC the Last Word on ‘Talk Radio’ Using Call Letters

A federal court judge has ordered KFI-AM (640) to stop using the slogan “Talk Radio” in conjunction with its call letters, ruling that the trademark belongs to rival all-talk station KABC-AM (790).

U.S. District Judge Richard A. Gadbois suggested in his ruling that KFI may have been taking advantage of the proximity of the stations’ dial positions and that “KFI knowingly took the name ‘Talk Radio’ to appropriate the fruits of KABC’s long-term and successful efforts to promote the name ‘KABC Talk Radio.’ ”

In enjoining KFI from using the term, Gadbois said: “KABC . . . has spent 17 years and a lot of money promoting its slogan, and it has achieved very significant product identification. KFI has been using its slogan for only a few weeks.”

“We’re very pleased,” said John Rook, KABC program director “The judge obviously studied the case and got to the real crux of the problem.”

KABC, which filed suit against KFI on April 3, has said it adopted its all-talk format in 1960 and in 1972 “invented and adopted the trademark.” KFI said the term is generic.

Officials at KFI did not interpret Gadbois’ ruling as a victory for KABC, because it does not prevent them from using the phrase on its own, without the call letters.

In July, 1988, KFI’s identifying slogan was “Talkin’ Southern California.” In March, 1989, it began using “Talk Radio.”