Jimmy Buffett Settles Trademark Lawsuit
Dec 1st - 11:56am

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) - Jimmy Buffett and a Galveston merchant he
accused of
unlawfully using his trademark to sell goods at an online store have
settled
the matter _ but not before the merchant spent a few hours in jail. A
lawsuit filed last month in federal court sought to shut down Robert
Akard's
Web site, http://www.underonehut.com.

Anthony Buzbee, a lawyer for Buffett, had accused Akard of unlawfully
selling bootleg and marked-up Buffett items on the site, including
T-shirts
and other items depicting either Buffett or slogans associated with the
singer.

Songs recorded by Buffett, 59, include "Margaritaville," "Changes in
Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" and "Cheeseburger in Paradise."

Akard's lawyer, Darrell Apffel, had called Buffett a financial empire
trying
to shut down a small business.

On Nov. 13, U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Kent issued a temporary
restraining order telling Akard to shut down his site until the case was
resolved. On Monday, Kent ordered Akard into custody for contempt of
court
after finding Akard had disregarded the order.

After spending a few hours in jail, Akard agreed to stop selling any
item
that bore Buffett's likeness or any of his registered slogans or images.
Akard also must turn over all inventory bearing such images or slogans
to
Buffett's attorneys.

The order didn't require Akard to shut down his site as long as all
Buffett-related references were removed.

Phone messages left Thursday with Buzbee and Apffel weren't immediately
returned.