Insurer seeks restraining order

COLUMBUS, OHIO - AFLAC has taken taftquack to court. <br> <br> The Columbus, Ga.-based insurance company on Wednesday asked U.S. District Court in Cleveland to keep Democrat Tim Hagan&#39;s gubernatorial campaign from using a duck in its ads. AFLAC says the duck looks and talks like its own duck. <br> <br> AFLAC&#39;s duck is featured in nationwide advertising and screams ``AFLAC!&#39;&#39; when it is ignored by human characters discussing insurance. <br> <br> Hagan&#39;s campaign has used a duck with Republican Gov. Bob Taft&#39;s face in promotions on its Internet site www.taftquack.com for two weeks. The Taft-duck is in two of the Internet spots one at a news conference where he shouts ``Taft quack&#39;&#39; to reporters&#39; questions and another that is critical of claims by Taft&#39;s campaign. <br> <br> The insurance company told the Hagan campaign that it had concerns about trademark and copyright infringement. <br> <br> AFLAC filed the request after two days of negotiations with Hagan&#39;s campaign. Hagan consultant Gerald Austin said the campaign offered to change the color of its duck from the AFLAC duck&#39;s white to yellow or brown. It also offered to alter its ``Taft quack&#39;&#39; message, Austin said. <br> <br> The talks have stalled over use of the ``taftquack&#39;&#39; Internet name, he said. The campaign says that since clicking on the site alone does not prompt the ``Taft quack&#39;&#39; audio, the Internet name doesn&#39;t need to be changed. <br> <br> ``What this has turned into is not so much us infringing on their copyright, but them infringing on our right of free speech,&#39;&#39; Austin said. <br> <br> AFLAC spokeswoman Abby Spinello confirmed the court filing but said she did not know its details. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re still having ongoing discussions,&#39;&#39; Spinello said. <br> <br> Taft campaign spokesman Orest Holubec said he was surprised the Hagan campaign has gone negative. He also said the campaign is not following the court case. <br> <br> ``We have a good sense of humor about these things,&#39;&#39; Holubec said. <br> <br> Two years ago, the campaign of Georgia Republican Mack Mattingly stopped running an ad after AFLAC complained about Mattingly&#39;s use of a duck in his U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat Zell Miller. That ad featured a duck that said, ``Back Mack.&#39;&#39;

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/9/190235