It gets laughs when The Famous San Diego Chicken ridicules and assaults a Barney-like character during baseball games around the country- but Barney isn't laughing. The owners of the purple dinosaur are suing. Lyons Partnership of Texas said The Chicken mascot, Ted Giannoulas, was first notified in 1994

that using the Barney-like costume in his act constituted infringement of Lyons' trademarks and copyrights."Specifically, Giannoulas would punch, flip, stand on and otherwise assault the putative 'Barney,' " the lawsuit alleges. "Despite such notice, Lyons received subsequent reports of 'Barney' appearing with The Famous Chicken at games of the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners and others. "
The company wants a permanent injunction against use of the dinosaur costume and a minimum of $100,000 for each time Giannoulas has

performed a skit with the dinosaur in it. Kenneth Fitzgerald, an attorney for The Chicken, said the act is a parody protected under the © copyright Act, trademark laws and the First Amendment. "The character I use is not the real Barney," said Giannoulas, "and to prove it I'll have him take a DNA test. "