Hallmark Cards Inc. says a greeting card using Paris Hilton's “that's hot” catch phrase and image was meant as a parody. But the celebrity socialite apparently didn't appreciate the humor. The Kansas City-based greeting card giant and the hotel heiress have reached a settlement in a 3-year-old lawsuit over the card, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. The deal was sealed, and Hallmark spokeswoman Julie O'Dell declined to provide details. Hilton's lawsuit had sought a half-million dollars. “All I can say is we did settle,” O'Dell said. “We were able to reach a mutually acceptable conclusion.” Hilton's attorneys had said the company misappropriated Hilton's image and her catch phrase, which she trademarked in 2007, months before the lawsuit was filed against Hallmark. “This was a calculated way to use Miss Hilton's actual photo, name and catch phrase by Hallmark to draw attention to Hallmark's product,” Brent Blakely, Hilton's attorney, told the AP. Blakely said the case was significant in that it gave courts direction on how to judge a case dealing with the right of free speech versus the right of someone to control and profit from their persona. A trial had been scheduled to begin in December.
