KEDG Owns ‘K-LITE,’ Judge Rules

A federal judge put a stop Friday to the battle of the Lites, ruling that KEDG-FM has exclusive ownership of the trademark “K-LITE” and enjoining rival easy-listening station KGIL-FM from using the moniker.

Both stations have been calling themselves “K-LITE” on the air. KGIL (94.3), owned by Buckley Communications, has used the term in broadcasts since March 23 and KEDG (101.9) began using the term May 13, the day after the Golden West Broadcasters station switched formats from a varied mix of rock to the current assortment of soft hits.

After hearing testimony Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Irving Hill ruled Friday that although KGIL had been using the name longer, it had “aggressively seized upon” the name unlawfully. The “K-LITE” slogan was owned by Westwood One, which sold it to Golden West Broadcasters on May 5, along with its record library, for an undisclosed amount.

“It’s obvious with two radio stations in the same market using the same format and (trade) mark, there is serious confusion in the public’s mind,” Hill said.

The “K-LITE” slogan had been used for the previous three years to describe easy-listening station KIQQ-FM (100.3). Westwood One acquired it in purchasing the station last March, but stopped using the name when it turned the station into KQLZ, the hard-rocking “Pirate Radio.” Station deejay and program director Scott Shannon announced March 17: “Ladies and gentlemen, at this time K-LITE signs off the air forever.”

Attorneys for KGIL cited that statement as a basis for their claim that they had appropriated the term because it had been abandoned.

Hill disagreed with this contention. “The evidence is clear that Westwood One, the previous owner of the mark and the seller of it, never intended to abandon the mark,” Hill said, adding that it was Westwood One’s intention to sell the mark because of its “substantial value.”