Designer Is Allowed to Use ‘Paul Frank Design’

An Orange County judge has declined to issue an order preventing Paul Frank Sunich from using his name while a legal battle is unfolding between the designer and the company he co-founded.

Paul Frank Industries Inc. in Costa Mesa, best known for the monkey face that appears on many of its products, had objected to Sunich using the name “Paul Frank Design” on a website after the apparel and accessories maker fired him in November.

But U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney ruled late Friday that there was no justification for granting the preliminary injunction because the company did not show that Sunich had used the name to sell goods or design services.