OFF BEAT: Ralph Lauren rides to victory in legal ruling over logo

The U.S. Polo Association is in a legal funk after an appeals court brought down the legal mallet on the association this week, ruling it cannot use its logo on a perfume bottle because it violates a trademark held by Ralph Lauren Corp.

The USPA and the fashion company have been at legal loggerheads for years over the similarity of their logos, both of which feature the silhouette of a man astride a horse playing The Sport of Kings.

In 1984, a court ruled that the USPA could use its logo on its products so long as the image was not likely to cause confusion with goods made by Ralph Lauren. However, in 2006, a federal jury ruled the company had infringed on Ralph Lauren’s trademark.

This week’s ruling by a three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said the USPA went too far when it slapped its pony on the perfume in 2009.