Court sides with Paris Hilton in Hallmark fight

[September 01, 2009]  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- An appeals court has ruled that Paris Hilton can continue pursuing a lawsuit against Hallmark Cards Inc. over the use of her picture and catch phrase "That's hot" on a greeting card.

Hilton sued the company in 2007 after it began selling without her permission birthday cards of a cartoon of a waitress serving a plate of food to a patron. A photo of Hilton's face was pasted on the cartoon's body.

Hilton alleges that the card ripped off her appearance as a waitress in an episode of her reality television show "The Simple Life."

The 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a lower court's ruling allowing the bulk of Hilton's lawsuit. Hallmark has defended the card as parody, which is normally protected under fair-use law.

[Associated Press]

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