The fight over TD Ameritrade Dirty Dancing-parodying ad is back.

Yesterday a federal judge ruled in favor of Lionsgate on reviving a claim about trademark dilution, and that ruling effectively revives the lawsuit, Eriq Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter reports. In March the same federal judge threw out Lionsgate's trademark infringement allegations in the case.

The suit stems from a TD Ameritrade ad which parodies the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing. The cartoon ad shows a man picking up a piggy bank, in the same way that Patrick Swayze picked up Jennifer Grey in the movie. Then on-screen text and voiceover in the ad says "Nobody puts your old 401(k) in the corner", reminiscent of the "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" line from the movie -- but with more 401(k) rollovers involved.

This latest ruling, in the words of the judge, means that Lionsgate's lawsuit "survives the Motion to Dismiss." 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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