Oprah Sued By German Magazine Rival

By Stephen M. Silverman

08/21/2001 at 01:00 PM EDT

German publisher Ronald Brockmeyer, who publishes an erotic magazine called O, is suing America's O, The Oprah Magazine, for breach of copyright. In his New York court filing on Monday, the Essen-based Brockmeyer said that Oprah's publication had engaged in unfair competition and trademark infringement. "I know that lawsuits are a burden on your life, but I had no choice," he said. "O is my trademark. I built it up and protected it for years . . . The defendants knew about my rights but went ahead anyway and they refused to stop when I asked them to." The ad-less German O features mostly clothes-less women in a variety of provocative poses. In its current issue, the Winfrey O has features on improving friendships and losing weight. The suit was lodged against the American magazine's publishers, the Hearst Corporation and Harpo Print LLC (the TV queen's company), and seeks an injunction against the further use of the term "O Magazine" and the "O" letter design. So far, no comment from the Americans.