Mutual Of Omaha Settles 'aha' Suit Against Winfrey

JOSH FUNK

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Mutual of Omaha may have had its own "aha moment." The insurance company has decided to settle its lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey's production company over rights to the phrase.

Jim Nolan, a spokesman for Mutual, and Angela DePaul, a spokeswoman for Winfrey's Chicago-based Harpo Productions Inc., would only say Monday that the case was resolved amicably. Documents filed last month in U.S. District Court in Omaha do not outline details of the settlement.

Mutual and Harpo began sparring earlier this year after Mutual starting using the slogan "official sponsor of the aha moment" in a national advertising campaign.

Harpo asked Mutual in a letter to stop using "aha moment" to promote its insurance and financial products because it didn't want confusion about whether there was a relationship between Mutual and Winfrey. Winfrey's representatives argued in April that the phrase was synonymous with Winfrey and her show. Winfrey often discusses "aha moments" — described on her magazine's Web site as "those flashes of understanding" — with guests on her show.

Mutual responded with the lawsuit and documents showing it had obtained preliminary approval of a federal trademark.