AIDS Walk Atlanta organizers settle legal dispute

Organizers of AIDS Walk Atlanta have settled a legal dispute with the events company that formerly organized the event over the use of the name "AIDS Walk Atlanta" and the walk's logo, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. MZA Events had previously produced the annual fund-raiser, but the contract with the Los Angeles-based event planning group was canceled last year. AID Atlanta, the primary beneficiary of the fund-raiser, said the organization wanted to streamline the event and lower production costs, which had risen so high that some sponsors had dropped their support for the walk. AID Atlanta scheduled a 2004 walk for October 17. In January, AID Atlanta filed a lawsuit in federal district court claiming exclusive ownership of the name and logo associated with AIDS Walk Atlanta when MZE planned to hold a similar AIDS walk fund-raiser using the same name and same logo. MZE also had sent a cease-and-desist letter to AID Atlanta telling the AIDS organization it could no longer use the name AIDS Walk Atlanta for any event not produced by MZE. The settlement allows AID Atlanta to retain exclusive rights to the name AIDS Walk Atlanta but does not allow the organization to use the logo developed by MZE events. The October 17 walk will go on as planned, AID Atlanta officials say. Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., will serve as the honorary chairwoman of the fund-raiser.