Parody shirt designer back on line August 22, 2001 - Bennington Banner (PA) by Noah Hoffenberg DANBY(PA) -- A Danby man's T-shirt company is 99.9 percent back in business after a federal judge essentially dropped Phish's temporary injunction against the upstart clothier last Wednesday. Sean Knight of Knighthood Tees was served by federal marshals earlier this year with a temporary restraining order on his clothing line, which largely spoofs the band Phish by melding their song titles and lyrics with name brand product logos. Phish and their attorneys has maintained that the spoofs were an infringement on copyrights. Stemming from a July 24 federal court hearing in Brattleboro, Judge J. Garvan Murtha ruled that preliminary injunctive relief for the band was denied, and that Knight can resume selling all but one of his T-shirt designs. "The defendants have provided sufficient preliminary support for their contention that their logos are protected parodies, thereby making injunctive relief inappropriate," stated Murtha in his August 15 ruling. Phish attorneys maintained that Knight's products were confusing to Phish consumers, and cited some examples at last months hearing. Murtha, however, wasn't convinced. "The Court believes it is just as likely that many Phish fans are sophisticated enough to understand the difference between plaintiffs' items, which clearly display an official, registered 'Phish' logo," stated Murtha, "and the defendants items, which uniformly and prominently incorporate artwork associated with other, non-Phish products." Murtha called Phish's examples of customer confusion "anecdotal at best," and said that there is a "marketplace separation" between venues of official and unofficial product sales. "We obviously intend to proceed with the case," said Phish manager John Paluska, "but we need to take some time to review it and see where we're going from here." Paluska said the ruling wasn't exactly what the band had hoped for, and that the decision hasn't changed how they feel about Knight's alleged copyright infringement. Knight's attorney Gordon Troy believed Murtha's ruling to be a definitive communication on the impending case, which will probably go to trial by next summer. "I think the judge is sending them a loud, clear message that they have some serious hurdles to overcome in order to prove the case," said Troy. "I don't believe that there's any quantum of evidence that they could come up with to satisfy that burden." Troy said that out of all the businesses where alleged infringement is supposedly occurring, Phish picked on someone who is a member of their family, someone who doesn't have the economic wherewithal to withstand heavy litigation. But Knight apparently does have the wherewithal, and is happy with Murtha's recent ruling. Knight, however, would like nothing more than for the band to cease and desist, for both their sakes, in the case. "As a fan of the band, it would be upsetting to see them involved in a courtroom rock-and-roll circus," said Knight. "It was a good decision. Knighthoodtees.com is back in business." Phish attorneys could be reached for comment.