Last week, we reported on the ridiculously lavish gift bags that Distinctive Assets will be handing out to this year’s Oscar nominees. Among other things, they include vouchers for international travel, vampire breast lifts, sex toys, and vapes. But one other thing they carry—use of the Academy’s name, even in an “unofficial” capacity—has brought a lawsuit down on their creator’s heads.
According to Variety, the Academy has tried to distance itself from the gift bags for years, but partially spurred on by the seedy nature of some of this year’s gifts, they decided that enough was enough, and they’ve filed an injunction against Distinctive Assets in federal court. “Last year, the Academy attempted to address Distinctive Assets’ false and infringing representation without litigation. We had no choice but to file a lawsuit,” said a spokesperson for the Academy.
The Academy itself offered gift bags until 2006, when it entered into an agreement with the IRS to pay what we can only imagine were exorbitant taxes on the bags’ contents. Distinctive Assets and other companies have stepped in to fill the void, garnering excellent promotion in the process (hey, we’re writing about this, right?).
It’s certainly legitimate for the Academy to be worried about its name, and they have every right to file this suit. That said, their image focus might be better spent on resolving the accusations of racial discrimination in its nomination process.