Court to hear suit over "Tea Party" name

A U.S. judge has agreed to referee a dispute among Florida political activists over who can use the phrase "Tea Party" in their name. A trial has been scheduled to begin on December 6 in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida, in a lawsuit that questions whether anyone has a trademark or intellectual property right to the "Tea Party" name.

Hundreds of groups call themselves part of the Tea Party movement whose name alludes to the 18th century U.S. revolt against tea taxes and British colonial rule. They usually oppose big central government, deficit spending and President Barack Obama, but there is no hierarchy or formal affiliation among them.

While Tea Partiers generally oppose federal government intervention, they have turned to the federal court to resolve a dispute that arose after Fred O'Neal, a central Florida lawyer and longtime anti-tax crusader, registered the "Tea Party" as a Florida political party in August. O'Neal said the name is an acronym for the "Taxed Enough Already" party and that he hoped to recruit candidates to run against both Democrats and Republicans.

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Nearly three dozen people and groups who called themselves part of the Tea Party movement filed suit against O'Neal and two associates in January, accusing them of trying to "hijack" the movement and confuse the public. "They're trying to promote candidates that we wouldn't support," said plaintiff Everett Wilkinson, who has been active in Tea Party events and groups. "The people trust us more than the political parties. We work hard to keep that trust." The plaintiffs said O'Neal's group is a "fake" Tea Party, a claim he scoffs at.