Battle Over Brand Name

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A charity that gives prom dresses to needy girls is asking a federal court to protect its name.

Becca’s Closet is seeking federal trademark protection and is suing Lunada Bay Corp., an Anaheim sportswear maker that uses the brand Becca.

The charity was named for Rebecca Kirtman, a 16-year-old girl killed in a car accident last year. Before she died, Rebecca collected about 250 prom dresses and gave them to needy girls across South Florida.

Inspired by her kindness, Rebecca’s parents, friends and family collected thousands of gowns and opened a boutique in Pompano Beach, Fla.

Her father, Jay Kirtman, is chairman of the charity, which has grown to 60 chapters across the country, including 16 in Florida and three in California.

In Broward County, Fla., teens seeking dresses make an appointment to meet a Becca’s Closet representative at a Pompano Beach storage location, where 4,000 dresses are available.

James A. Gale, an attorney for Becca’s Closet, said it filed suit against Lunada Bay last week as a preemptive measure. In a January letter to the charity’s attorney, Lunada Bay officials said they feared the similar names could “create confusion in the marketplace.”

“The only similarity is that we both deal with teenagers,” Kirtman said. “But we deal with teenagers who are less fortunate, and they deal with teenagers who shop at Nordstrom and Macy’s.”

Gale said he hoped the court filing would encourage an amicable agreement between the parties.

But if no middle ground is reached, he and Kirtman will seek a ruling from a federal judge that Lunada Bay has no legitimate grounds to oppose “Becca’s Closet” as a trademark.

Lunada Bay Chief Executive Susan Crank said she recognized the nonprofit’s good deeds and was willing to support the charity’s use of the name as long as it withdrew its trademark application.