Showtime Hit with Name Suit; HBO Backs Off

When Showtime first came out with a show called Californication, press accounts like this one were careful to note that that term wasn't invented by the Red Hot Chili Peppers but has been in use since the 1970s to mean doing something California-style.

But maybe somebody should've asked the Chili Peppers. The band filed suit against Showtime and the program's producers yesterday, claiming the word "Californication" is "immediately associated in the mind of the consumer" with their so-titled 1999 album and hit single.

As evidence that creator Tom Kapinos was inspired by their music, the suit notes that a character in Californication is named Dani California, after another Chili Peppers song.

Still, it seems like a thin case. Why is it all well and good when the Chili Peppers make money off a common bit of slang but "unjust enrichment" when Showtime does it? And you can't say the name's not apt: David Duchovny's character gets it on a lot.

Meanwhile, HBO has decided to let a trademark dispute of its own go quietly away. The premium cable net has opted not to oppose a trademark application by a New York martial arts trainer who calls her company Health and the City. Previously, HBO had asked for several extensions of the filing deadline while deciding whether that name was too close to Sex and the City.