The next purple dinosaur that gets a big hug at your kid's party better not look too much like Barney.
Lyons Partnership of Dallas, which licenses Barney products, has sued or plans to sue at least 700 costume shops and other retailers in 20 states. The company says dressing like Barney is copyright infringement.The problem? Lyons said if people see those in costume smoking, drinking and swearing, it will tarnish Barney's image.
"There have been photographs in newspapers of a person in a bogus Barney costume with the head off smoking a cigarette," Lyons spokeswoman Kelly Lane said Monday from the company's offices in Dallas.
Barney is a 6-foot, grinning, green-spotted purple dinosaur who sings and dances for preschoolers on the top-rated PBS show "Barney and Friends." About 12 million people see the show each week.
Lyons has never licensed adult-sized costumes "because we can't police what the person does," Lane said.
Gary Baldowski, who owns an Eastern Onion franchise in suburban Atlanta, vowed to fight the lawsuit. His workers dress up as characters to deliver messages, sometimes bawdy, at birthday parties and other celebrations.
"I can make a purple dinosaur, but if I make it look like Barney and tell you as a customer we have a Barney, we are in total violation," he said. "We never ever did that, nor do they have any proof. We are ready to start the battle."
M. Kelly Tillery, a Philadelphia lawyer for Lyons, scoffed at retailers' claims that their dinosaur costumes were not Barney.