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A Christchurch businessman battling American giant Playboy Enterprises International over proceeds from a charity ball has offered a cash settlement.
Playboy Enterprises, through Wellington specialist intellectual property law firm AJ Park, is suing Craig Douglas for alleged trademark infringements at a Playboy-themed charity ball in Christchurch last September.
Mr Douglas' Full Throttle Events sport management company organised the ball that attracted personalities such as All Black halfback Byron Kelleher and raised close to $20,000 for Koru Care.
He said today he'd been "gobsmacked" by the David and Goliath battle that ensued.
Mr Douglas said he'd contacted Playboy Enterprises well before the event and after agreeing to a number of conditions understood he had been cleared to use the name made famous by sex entrepreneur Hugh Hefner and his Playboy magazine empire.
In pre-ball legal manoeuvrings, Playboy Enterprises demanded 25 per cent of the takings but Mr Douglas stood his ground.
After a High Court hearing yesterday in which Playboy Enterprises alleged some 26 trademark infractions, Mr Douglas said Full Throttle had offered a settlement and the court hearing had been adjourned until February 27.
"We've made them a settlement offer to keep the thing out of court and to get rid of it," Mr Douglas told NZPA today.
A confidentiality clause prevented him divulging the settlement figure.
"I just want the thing to go away," he said.
'I could have eliminated the $50,000 or $60,000 it's costing me to defend this by just giving them 25 per cent of the charity money, which morally I was not prepared to do."
Mr Douglas said the ball had been designed to attract the "young wealth" of Christchurch and persuade them to part with some of their cash for a worthy cause.
"I still believe we've done the right thing by not giving them the money that was destined for terminally ill children."
Mr Douglas said he couldn't get away from the feeling his company had been "picked on" by Playboy and Wellington law firm AJ Park, which had "pushed" litigation.
"We feel we may be being used as an example...to give us a bit of a thrashing to tell the general public 'don't (mess) with Playboy because we're bigger than anyone else'."
Mr Douglas said he planned a similar charity ball next year and hoped it would become as "institutionalised" in Christchurch as Cup Week here this week.
One of the conditions of future events was that his legal department "consult heavily" with Playboy Enterprises.
Asked if Playboy would be seeking a cut from future balls, Mr Douglas said: "Absolutely not."
- NZPA
