Businesses end dispute over noted name

Suit settled on Lizzie Borden

The Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in Fall River (above) settled its lawsuit with The True Story of Lizzie Borden Gift Shop and Museum in Salem, which will drop the use of the trademark name "Lizzie Borden Museum." (Steven Senne/ Associated Press)

A Salem museum and gift shop dedicated to Lizzie Borden will change its name to settle a trademark lawsuit filed by a man who runs a bed and breakfast in the home where Borden's family was murdered with a hatchet, one owner said yesterday.

Donald Woods, owner of the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in Fall River, sued in federal court, saying The True Story of Lizzie Borden Gift Shop and Museum infringed on his trademark of "Lizzie Borden Museum" and would siphon business from Fall River, an industrial city where sites related to the murders of Borden's father and stepmother in 1892 remain a tourist attraction.

Leonard Pickel, the manager and part-owner of the Salem museum, said the settlement agreement allows him to use "Lizzie Borden" in a tagline describing his business, not in the name of his business.

The settlement was reached Monday, the day before the case was scheduled to go to trial in US District Court.

Pickel said he originally chose the name "The True Story of Lizzie Borden" to avoid infringement on the Fall River "Lizzie Borden Museum" trademark. The Salem museum opened in August in the historic seaport famous for its 17th-century witch trials.

He said he thought his museum would actually generate interest in the home in Fall River, which is about 80 miles south of Salem.

"We would have never named our business in a way that would have upset anybody," Pickel said.

Pickel said he can continue to sell merchandise with the current name until next month, when his business will close for the winter. The new name, which has not yet been chosen, will be on the museum when it reopens next spring, he said.

Woods could not immediately be reached for comment yesterday. A woman who answered the phone at the bed and breakfast said he was out of state. His attorney, Jeremy Blackowicz, declined to comment.

Borden's father, wealthy businessman Andrew Borden, and her stepmother, Abby, were found dead from multiple blows from a hatchet on Aug. 4, 1892. Lizzie Borden, 32, was arrested six days later.

Borden was acquitted but widely believed to be guilty.