Did TMZ Knowingly Infringe On A Gossip Blog’s Brand Without Permission?

While TMZ isn’t exactly known for being on the cutting edge of originality, a segment that aired on last night’s program came uncomfortably close to pushing the boundaries of brand (if not copyright) infringement. As we show in the attached video, TMZ aired a segment featuring American Idol finalists David Cook and David Archuleta being mobbed by a posse of paps while making their way through New York’s JFK Airport. And, as you might expect, Idol winner David Cook drew the lion’s share of the attention, while David Archuleta was left fending off the advances of one particularly enthused paparazzo. TMZ called this moment of potential embarrassment for Cook their “D-Listed Moment Of The Day.” This immediately caught our eye because, naturally, we have been longtime fans of the catty gossip blog D-Listed. We reached out to that site’s proprietor, Michael K, to find out whether or not he had any knowledge of this usage and he had this to say: “No. I have no idea what that shit is. I’m not involved in it.” This news is a tad ironic, considering that D-Listed began its life as The D-List before “Kathy Griffin threatened to kill [their] asses”, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Making matters even more compelling, it’s not exactly like TMZ can claim that they have never heard of the blog, considering it currently occupies a space on their blogroll. As they say, developing…