Rocky Rococo
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==Copyright dispute== |
==Copyright dispute== |
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The Firesign Theatre visited the first Rocky Rococo Pizza when on tour in Madison in 1975, and reacted with good humor, joking around with the owners and giving them pictures that said, "To Rocky, from Rocky" which were hung on the wall. But in 1985, when the chain had grown to 62 restaurants, the Firesign Theatre sent the owners a letter claiming ownership of the name. Their lawyers found a similar case where an Austin, Texas, pizzeria named Conan's ran afoul of the copyright owners, producers of the 1982 film ''[[Conan the Barbarian (1982 film)|Conan the Barbarian]]''. Since the creator of the [[Conan the Barbarian (comics)|''Conan the Barbarian'' comic]] had similarly endorsed the restaurant by drawing Conan on its walls, the suit lost in the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]]. The Firesigns thus settled out of court.{{cite news |last=Breuer |first=Tom |date=March 2014 |title=Rocky Rococo celebrates 40-year slice of success |url=http://www.ibmadison.com/In-Business-Madison/March-2014/Rocky-Rococo-celebrates-40-year-slice-of-success/index.php?cparticle=2&siarticle=1#artanc |work=In Business Madison |location=Madison, Wisconsin |access-date=February 28, 2018 |archive-date=March 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164316/http://www.ibmadison.com/In-Business-Madison/March-2014/Rocky-Rococo-celebrates-40-year-slice-of-success/index.php?cparticle=2&siarticle=1#artanc |url-status=dead }} |
The Firesign Theatre visited the first Rocky Rococo Pizza when on tour in Madison in 1975, and reacted with good humor, joking around with the owners and giving them pictures that said, "To Rocky, from Rocky" which were hung on the wall. But in 1985, when the chain had grown to 62 restaurants, the Firesign Theatre sent the owners a letter claiming ownership of the name.{{Cite web |last=Breuer |first=Tom |date=2014-03-24 |title=Rocky Rococo celebrates 40-year slice of success |url=https://www.ibmadison.com/industries/hospitality-tourism/rocky-rococo-celebrates-40-year-slice-of-success/article_0c4a976f-3ca6-536b-ac0d-28cb7f19867c.html |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=ibmadison.com |language=en}} Their lawyers found a similar case where an Austin, Texas, pizzeria named Conan's ran afoul of the copyright owners, producers of the 1982 film ''[[Conan the Barbarian (1982 film)|Conan the Barbarian]]''. Since the creator of the [[Conan the Barbarian (comics)|''Conan the Barbarian'' comic]] had similarly endorsed the restaurant by drawing Conan on its walls, the suit lost in the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]]. The Firesigns thus settled out of court.{{cite news |last=Breuer |first=Tom |date=March 2014 |title=Rocky Rococo celebrates 40-year slice of success |url=http://www.ibmadison.com/In-Business-Madison/March-2014/Rocky-Rococo-celebrates-40-year-slice-of-success/index.php?cparticle=2&siarticle=1#artanc |work=In Business Madison |location=Madison, Wisconsin |access-date=February 28, 2018 |archive-date=March 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164316/http://www.ibmadison.com/In-Business-Madison/March-2014/Rocky-Rococo-celebrates-40-year-slice-of-success/index.php?cparticle=2&siarticle=1#artanc |url-status=dead }} |
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By 1986, the chain had grown to 120 stores, according to the company. Mosley and Brown sold the franchise rights to Tom Hester and a group of investors in 1988. At one time, the chain generated about $40 million in annual sales.{{Cite web |url=http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2007/12/03/story8.html |title=The Business Journal of Milwaukee, 11-30-2007, retrieved 10-08-2009 |access-date=2009-10-09 |archive-date=2008-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229100316/http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2007/12/03/story8.html |url-status=live }} |
By 1986, the chain had grown to 120 stores, according to the company. Mosley and Brown sold the franchise rights to Tom Hester and a group of investors in 1988. At one time, the chain generated about $40 million in annual sales.{{Cite web |url=http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2007/12/03/story8.html |title=The Business Journal of Milwaukee, 11-30-2007, retrieved 10-08-2009 |access-date=2009-10-09 |archive-date=2008-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229100316/http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2007/12/03/story8.html |url-status=live }} |
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