Rival foundations named for two members of the same family of business magnates are headed to federal court because of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s rebranding of its name to simply Mellon Foundation.
Richard King Mellon Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pa., — also known as R.K. Mellon Foundation and created in 1947 — is seeking an injunction to stop the New York City-based Andrew W. Mellon (A.W. Mellon) Foundation from using the abridged Mellon Foundation name, thereby holding itself out as the only legitimate Mellon foundation.
Alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition, the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. It claims the name change infringes and misappropriates “R.K. Mellon Foundation’s substantial rights in and to the Richard King Mellon Foundation trademark.
“Defendant’s move creates a likelihood of confusion or mistake as to whether defendant is the only ‘Mellon,’ whether R.K. Mellon Foundation is approved by defendant, and whether R.K. Mellon Foundation — despite its charitable history of 75 years — is now illegitimate,” according to the lawsuit.
The complaint was filed shortly after A.W. Mellon Foundation leaders issued a press release rebranding the nonprofit as the Mellon Foundation and filed two trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, one for the new name and the second for a logo that features a stylized letter M before the Mellon Foundation name.
No one from A.W. Mellon Foundation informed R.K. Mellon Foundation about the new shortened name, it is alleged in the court papers.
Via the lawsuit, the foundation wants A.W. Mellon Foundation to stop using the shorter name on all communications, including advertising and on its website. Failure to do so, lawyers argued in the complaint, will result in irreparable harm to the R.K. Mellon Foundation, including in Pennsylvania where both foundations give grants and make investments that could confuse people as to the true benefactor.
“Defendant provides charitable foundation services in highly similar channels of trade to the same and overlapping prospective and actual grantees as R.K. Mellon Foundation,” the attorneys wrote in the filing.
Attorneys for R.K. Mellon could not be reached to comment. A.W. Mellon Foundation attorney, Robert J. English, declined to comment.
Since 1947, R.K. Mellon Foundation has grown into the largest charitable foundation in Southwestern Pennsylvania, with net assets of $3.4 billion and disbursed grants and investments totaling $152 million by the end of 2021, according information in the lawsuit. Its focus is often on improving the economic vitality and conserving natural resources in the Pittsburgh area, where the Mellon family prospered.
A.W. Mellon Foundation, meanwhile, was founded 22 years later, in 1969, and emphasizes arts and humanities. A.W. Mellon Foundation has an $8.2 billion endowment and has awarded $417 million through 17,974 grants as of 2021, according to information on the foundation’s website.
Both foundations are involved in major projects. R.K. Mellon last year unveiled a 10-year blueprint and commitment to invest $1.2 billion in making the greater Pittsburgh area a global destination and to advance environmental conservation across America.
A.W. Mellon Foundation has been active distributing grants during the past few months: $1 million to the Asian University for Women Support Foundation in Cambridge, Mass., $7.5 million to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in New York City; $13.4 million to the National Park Foundation in Washington, D.C.; and, $2 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
The Mellon family’s enormous wealth was accrued primarily by brothers Andrew William Mellon and Richard B. Mellon during the 1920s and 1930s, investing or founding companies that include Mellon Bank, Alcoa, Standard Steel Car Co., Westinghouse Electric Co. and Gulf Oil. Andrew Mellon was the most famous brother, serving as U.S. Treasury Secretary from 1921 to 1932.
Richard B. Mellon’s son, Richard King Mellon, created the foundation that bears his name. A.W. Mellon Foundation was established in 1969 with the merger of two former foundations started by Andrew Mellon’s son and daughter.
