Shortly after Southwest started using the "Just Plane Smart" motto, Stevens Aviation, who had been using "Plane Smart" for their motto, threatened a trademark lawsuit.[54]
Instead of a lawsuit, the CEOs for both companies staged an arm wrestling match. Held at the now demolished Dallas Sportatorium (the famed wrestling facility) and set for two out of three rounds, the loser of each round was to pay $5,000 to the charity of their choice, with the winner gaining the use of the trademarked phrase. A promotional video was created showing the CEOs "training" for the bout (with CEO Herb Kelleher being helped up during a sit up where a cigarette and glass of whiskey (Wild Turkey 101) was waiting) and distributed among the employees and as a video press release along with the video of the match itself. Herb Kelleher lost the match for Southwest, with Stevens Aviation winning the rights to the phrase. Kurt Herwald, CEO of Stevens Aviation, immediately granted the use of "Just Plane Smart" to Southwest Airlines. The net result was both companies having use of the trademark, $15,000 going to charity and good publicity for both companies.
Result:
$15k to charity, great PR, and both companies got to use the slogan "Just Plane Smart."
Comments
Bethesda has a pretty weak case on this issue and it's generated quite a lot of negative PR. This is a pretty classy exit on the matter.
They could organize a live stream of the tournament and donate proceeds to a charity. Both companies would get loads of positive PR. Win:Win
-and it's not completely unprecedented either: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines#.22Just_Plane_Smart.22 Result:
$15k to charity, great PR, and both companies got to use the slogan "Just Plane Smart."