Phish fan wins restoration of business July 25, 2001 - Bennington Banner by Noah Hoffenberg BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -- After being shut down by a restraining order, a Danby clothing designer accused of producing counterfeit Phish merchandise will have his business up and running again. Sean Knight - also known as Waldo from his penchant for donning the garb of "Where's Waldo?" - is the owner of Knighthood Tees, a company devoted to selling jam-band related merchandise, much of which spoofs the Vermont band Phish. Phish attorneys maintained that Knighthood's use of Phish song titles mixed with mainstream corporate logos, like "Glide," and "Tide," and "Jibboo," and "Yahoo" are an infringement upon literary copyrights for titles. A federal judge in U.S. District Court Tuesday agreed that Knight is prohibited from selling the above items, but can sell 15 to 17 other items which clearly do not infringe on any Phish copyrights. These acceptable items were listed in Phish's original restraining order against Knight. Knight and his attorney Gordon Troy squared off against a team of four Phish attorneys to determine if a temporary restraining order issued by a California federal court against Knighthood should stand or fall. The court is deciding whether to grant a preliminary injunction against Knighthood, on the grounds that the upstart clothing company has somehow violated Phish's copyrights for song titles and lyrics. Until he was shut down in March, Knighthood was earning $5,000 per week through Internet retail sales, and $5,000 a month from wholesale sales. Phish attorneys said this is money taken directly out of Phish band members' pockets. "Now that he's selling infringing merchandise over the Internet, we've got no alternative," said Phish attorney William Hill. "We've got to shut him down." This case was a prime example of trademark and copyright infringement, Hill said, because Phish customers were confused as to what was legitimate Phish product and what was not. Hill also produced a letter from Knight to Phish manager John Paluska, where Knight identified himself as "your favorite bootlegger." Troy said, however, that "song titles are not trademarks that can be infringed upon," and that there is an absence of references to song titles in copyright laws. Phish fans do indeed recognize the difference between official and unofficial merchandise, Troy also said, noting that the unofficial merchandise is usually preferred. "Songs aren't literary works," said Troy. "They're non-dramatic musical works." Troy presented the photograph of Phish band member John Fishman dressed in one of Knighthood's designs, a "Glide" shirt. "I assume the band is supporting this lawsuit?" Judge J. Garvan Murtha then asked Phish's attorneys. Additionally, in preliminary paperwork, Phish members said they did not want to impinge upon any of Knight's legitimate business, said Troy. Phish attorneys indicated that they did not mean to infer that all of the merchandise was counterfeit - even though they included all of Knighthood's merchandise in their restraining order. "I don't want the defendant to be prohibited from selling items that are not a part of this lawsuit," Murtha said. After hearing all the testimony Tuesday, Murtha said that he will issue a decision as soon as possible, However, the restraining order on alleged counterfeit Phish merchandise will stay until Murtha reaches his decision. Murtha also noted that Knighthood has recently filed a countersuit.