Masters of Cinema vs. Masters of Cinema (updated)?

This is a very odd bit of news: book-publisher Phaidon has presented their upcoming series of books on famous directors, and they call this series: "Masters of Cinema". Complete with its own logo and all.

If that name rings a bell, it should. Distributor Eureka has for years been releasing films under their "Masters of Cinema" label. These releases have been so incredibly good and well-received that this label now carries the same amount of prestige as Criterion. Especially the booklets which accompany the "Masters of Cinema" are of high quality, easily amongst the best ever released. The term "Masters of Cinema" originated from web-articles on famous directors, published online by an organisation of well-known film enthousiasts, and Eureka's brand was created as a side project by this group (later, Eureka acquired the organisition itself, consolidating the brandname).

And now there are "Masters of cinema" books, wow...

Only thing is, there is no relation whatsoever between Phaidon's "Masters of Cinema" books and Eureka's "Masters of Cinema" releases (or the "Masters of Cinema" organisation).
None whatsoever. Phaidon is using the name without Eureka's consent.

So Eureka is a tad angry. Especially now that Phaidon has replied that it's not infringing on the Eureka brand at all (stating that books are not the same thing as DVDs), and even claiming that they were not even aware of the brand's existence.

Both parties seem to be digging in legal-wise which is a shame as there must surely be a more elegant way of solving this. Eureka was using "Masters of Cinema" as a brand name years before Phaidon did, and if Phaidon had called their book series "Criterion releases" or "Nike books" people wouldn't even be doubting Eureka's claim, I guess. Is "Masters of Cinema" special-sounding enough not to be used by anyone else though?

Tough question, and to be continued...
I always enjoy the friendly battles between Eureka's "Masters of Cinema" versus "Criterion" for who has the best release, and I think it's a shame that Eureka now has a far less friendly battle on its hands.

Ongoing news on this issue (if one-sided for obvious reasons) can be found on Eureka's Twitter page: Eureka's Twitter page.

UPDATED: Eureka has published an official statement on their website (http://eurekavideo.co.uk/moc/) detailing their point of view. Here are some excerpts:

"The production team of The Masters of Cinema Series went on strike Tuesday 2nd August 2011 out of desperation and in protest against the publisher Phaidon's appropriation of the already well established The Masters of Cinema Series brand for a Phaidon series of books about great film directors, without any permission or prior consultation."

"The series of books Phaidon call The Masters of Cinema Series were originally released in France as "COLLECTION GRANDS CINEASTES" ("Great Filmmaker Collection"). A textbook case of 'passing off', one would imagine this to be an open and shut case - except, Eureka Entertainment Ltd are now forced to launch expensive legal proceedings to protect The Masters of Cinema Series brand. We believe that Phaidon should do the right thing and acknowledge their unfortunate lack of brand awareness."

"The Masters of Cinema Series was founded in January 2004 by Eureka Entertainment Ltd and the MoC organisation / mastersofcinema.org / mastersofcinema.com / mastersofcinema.co.uk (est. 2001). The Masters of Cinema Series has established itself as one of the best-loved Blu-ray and DVD labels in Britain and is well known around the world, releasing over 150 films by auteur directors, in award-winning editions, each with a substantial book or booklet."

"There is no doubt that great confusion has been sown by Phaidon's damaging appropriation of The Masters of Cinema Series brand for their range of books (Eureka Entertainment Ltd regularly receive numerous mistaken public and trade requests about Phaidon's books) and whether this is all "pure coincidence" or not, is irrelevant. The Masters of Cinema Series was already established over 5 years earlier and Phaidon are trading on direct association with our good name."