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We All Scream For Ice Cream: Master Softee Defaults in Trademark Dispute

Law360, New York (September 2, 2015, 7:27 PM ET) — Mister Softee Inc. on Wednesday asked a New York federal judge for an installment payment order against a man who operated a rogue line of ice cream trucks called “Master Softee,” claiming he has not been making payments on a year-old judgment despite showing signs of regularly receiving wages from various business enterprises.

A heated lawsuit is pitting ice cream truck against ice cream truck over a familiar jingle.
“Here comes Mister Softee, the soft ice cream man,” the jingle for Mister Softee's ice cream trucks starts. Based in Runnemede, New Jersey, Mister Softee Inc. has owned the copyright to the tune since 1960, according to its sheet music. But the company is crying foul against a rival ice cream truck, alleging that the competitor is using its jingle to sell ice cream in Brooklyn, New York.

Mister Softee is taking a hard line against a competitor who's using the company's iconic jingle to sell his ice cream. Michael Scotto filed the following report.

NEW YORK — When you hear their trademark music and instantly you know a Mister Softee ice cream truck is heading your way.
But, the company is now suing a rival ice cream truck in Queens for allegedly stealing its jingle. It's just 16 notes in the key of E-flat. And to children everywhere the jolly jingle means only one thing.
“It means that we can go outside and get some ice cream,” one child said.

Mister Softee says a Queens man has stolen the sound of summer.
Mister Softee Inc. is suing a rival soft-serve slinger who’s been blaring its famous jingle from his ice cream truck.

For an anthropomorphized cylinder of liquid sugar, Mister Softee is a litigious man. After we ran our profile on Victor the ice cream man last month, attorneys for Mister Softee took notice, and filed a lawsuit against the owner of Victor's truck for illegal use of the Mister Softee jingle.