Lucasfilm asks court to drop MN company's 'Indiana Jones' lawsuit

(FOX 9) - Duluth-based outdoor supply company, Frost River, is suing Lucasfilm and competing outdoor supply company, Filson over alleged misuse and misrepresentation of Frost River products in a co-promotional campaign involving the movie "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."

Now, Lucasfilm and Filson have filed a motion to dismiss the case all together, and Frost River filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss. 

Frost River has accused Lucasfilm and Filson of stripping the logo off their bags and using them in the Indiana Jones film and a joint marketing campaign by both Lucasfilm and Filson to market and sell directly competing bags by using images of Frost River’s "de-branded" bags from the film, according to court documents. 

While Frost River bags are used in the costume design for the film, all branding was removed from bags used. 

The motion to dismiss states that the Frost River bag shown in the co-promotional commercial is only on-screen for a "fraction of one second" in a clip where the title character, Indiana Jones, is hiking and appears to be carrying Frost River’s geologist pack knapsack. The court document argues that Frost River distorted their commercial to overemphasize the identifiability of their unlabeled bag, rather than presenting it as it was seen by consumers. 

The defendants argue that the bag seen in the clip is unidentifiable to the ordinary consumer because the bag has a classic knapsack design. They also state that Filson advertised their own bags in the commercial and were not stating that Filson’s bags were used in the Indiana Jones film. 

Frost River’s opposition to the motion to dismiss re-emphasized their initial complaint, stating that Filson was passing off Frost River’s product as their own and emphasizing that Lucasfilm did not ask for their permission to use their products in the film. 

The original complaint was filed on July 19, 2023, and Frost River is seeking $75,000 in compensatory damages.