The family porn wars are over. After a four-day trial, a jury of four men and four women in U.S. District Court agreed today with Hustler founder Larry Flynt — namely, that two nephews exploited the family name in order to promote their own line of X-rated DVDs and porn merch at their uncle's expense.
According to the L.A. Times, Dustin and Jimmy Flynt Jr. will be barred from using the sole moniker “Flynt” to market their wares — a business strategy that the federal jury decided was a trademark infringement.
The trial strained credulity on both sides. It was difficult to believe that the nephews’ “Flynt” line of DVDs did not bank on consumers' associating the porn films with their uncle’s name. On the other hand, Dustin’s claims that he was merely exercising his right to brand his product with his own surname sounded perfectly reasonable. City News Service reports that no monetary damages were sought by the Hustler tycoon.
