On Tuesday, The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus ("Ringling") filed a trademark infringement lawsuit, alleging improper use of its "The Greatest Show on Earth" mark. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan against Sephora and its parent company, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, seeks unspecified damages and $5 million in punitive damages for the unauthorized use of Ringling's mark. According to the WCBS-TV article (link below), "[t]he circus' lawsuit seeks to stop Sephora holiday advertising that it says uses its trademarks, including the phrase it uses heavily in its program books, coloring books, playing cards and stuffed animals," and that "Sephora was using "The Greatest Gift Show on Earth" and other circus references and designs in its holiday advertising in stores, on billboards, in catalogs and on the Internet." A brief search of the USPTO's trademark database shows that Ringling has nine "live" U.S. marks for "The Greatest Show on Earth," and five "dead" marks, the earliest of which (Serial No. 72100726) claiming a first use of July 21, 1897.

WCBS-TV (New York) News Article: LINK
Earliest "The Greatest Show on Earth" Registration (DEAD): LINK
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey website: LINK
Sephora's catalog webpage: LINK