Wine sellers sue 'Girls Gone Wild'

MUSKOGEE, Okla. -- It's "Girls Gone Wine" versus "Girls Gone Wild."

That's w-i-n-e, as in the drink.

The three women with the clever name for their wine-selling business have sued the makers of those racy DVDs of stripping coeds.

At issue is whether the women can keep their already trademarked name. The women are asking a federal judge in Muskogee to decide.

"We will crush them," said "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis. "This is blatant trademark infringement."

"It just backs up everything that people have tried to do to me over the last few years to take advantage of me, and we're tired of it."

Francis, 34, a millionaire, spoke by phone from jail in Reno, where he is awaiting trial on a tax-evasion charge. He also is facing criminal charges in Florida for using minors in a sexual performance and conspiracy to use minors in a sexual performance. "This is a nightmare," he said.

He became wealthy by selling his "Girls Gone Wild" videos for almost a decade. His company is called Mantra Films Inc.

The videos, and now DVDs, show predominantly college-age women raising their tops and otherwise exposing themselves, often at spring break locations.

On the other side of the lawsuit are the three women who call their partnership "Shady Ladies" because they once considered investing in sunglasses stock.

They operate their "Girls Gone Wine" winery near Broken Bow, in a corner of Oklahoma popular with tourists.

The women went to federal court after getting a letter in July from a Mantra Films attorney demanding they "immediately cease and desist any and all use" of the winery's name. The letter explained Mantra Films was prepared to take legal action if the women kept using the name.

The women struck first, so the issue could be resolved in court in Oklahoma rather than California.

"It always makes your gut clinch when you get that kind of thing," said owner Michelle Finch. "We're hopeful that it will all work out. If not, we'll just deal with that, too, if it ever comes. . . . We're here. We're here to stay."

She said "Girls Gone Wine" just kind of stuck because it sounded fun. The trademark was officially registered in February.

Finch, 44, said she doesn't think anyone would confuse their business with the DVD-selling business.

"We certainly hope we never are. We don't get people walking in the door looking for anything but wine," she said.

The women's attorney, Martin Ozinga of Oklahoma City, is confident they will succeed in court. "The United States Patent and Trademark Office has already said 'There's no issue here. They can co-exist,' " he said.

The company behind "Girls Gone Wild" has had to deal with this before, all over the world, said its general counsel, Michael Burke.

"It happens all the time," Burke said. "Mantra Films has spent several hundred million dollars over the last 10 years advertising its name endlessly on television to build up the image that 'Girls Gone Wild' is a fun, party environment, and these women are taking a free ride on all that advertisement and name recognition."

Burke said the dispute with the winery still could be resolved in a friendly way, such as if the women agree to pay a royalty to Mantra Films and to not advertise nationally.