Cosmetics company charges Bee Movie producers for using their slogan

A cosmetics company charges the producers of "Bee Movie" for wrongfully using their marketing slogan "Give Bees A Chance" while advertising the movie.

Fort Lauderdale-based Beeceuticals LLC sells cosmetics and skin care products made with organic honey. The company filed an application to trademark the slogan in October 2006, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit was filed Nov. 1 in federal court against Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. and Paramount Pictures Corp.

The animated film was released Nov. 2 and features the voice of Jerry Seinfeld, who also co-wrote and co-produced the movie.

Since March 2007, the slogan has been used more than 400 times on radio personality Howard Stern's satellite radio show to brand all Beeceuticals' products and services, the lawsuit said.

Stern is a cousin of Richard Gerber, who is a director of the cosmetics company, said the company's attorney Elliot M. Zimmerman.

"It's his mark. They can't use it," Zimmerman said. "They damaged us and cost us some people who would have bought from us ... It's not right what they did."

The lawsuit said that in April and May 2007, a Beeceuticals marketing plan and other copyrighted works, including the slogan, were presented to the movie studios.

Zimmerman said experts were calculating the extent of financial damages caused to the company by the ads.

"Right now we are still trying to find out the extent of this loss," he said.

A spokeswoman for Paramount Pictures and a spokesman for Dreamworks both said their companies' policies were to not comment on pending litigation.