Barney's owner, Lyons Partnership of Richardson, Texas, sued Morris Costumes and owners Philip Morris and Amy Morris Smith in 1997, accusing the costume company of renting and selling Barney-like purple animal costumes with names such as Duffy the Dragon, Purple Dino and Hillary the Hippo.

  Lyons also sought an injunction preventing Morris Costumes from renting or selling the costumes, as well as $300,000 for what it called willful infringement.

  In a 36-page decision issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Graham Mullen ruled that the Duffy the Dragon costume didn't infringe on Barney's copyright, but the other two did. However, he ruled that Morris Costumes didn't infringe willfully, so Lyons couldn't collect damages.

  Mullen also denied the injunction request, noting that Morris Costumes had already stopped marketing the Hillary and Purple Dino costumes.

  Similar lawsuits targeting other Barney look-alikes have been filed across the country, but this was the first to go to trial.

  "We have no beef with Barney," said Jay Bilas, the Charlotte lawyer who helped represent Morris Costumes. "But the people behind Barney acted like bullies. They've bullied this poor businessman for two years. They forced him into a trial, and this is the result."

  Mack Sperling, a Greensboro lawyer who helped represent Lyons, said he hadn't seen the ruling and couldn't comment.

  Sperling had argued during the trial that the image of Barney, star of a children's TV show and inspiration behind countless toys, could be harmed if someone used a look-alike costume to hurt or scare a child.

  Was reading the latest issue of Newsweek, came across a picture of a little kid watching Barney. However, the news that goes with such a disgusting picture isn't actually all that bad. As follows:

  "Tinky Winky's wandered into the crosshairs again. Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that kids under 2 watch no TV. The AAP claims that time spent in front of the tube will reduce the amount of human interaction babies need to develop cognitive skills, such as language, and to bond with adults. The recommendation also urges pediatricians to alert parents to the harmful effects of media, and suggests that television sets and computers be banished from the rooms of all children, regardless of their age. The AAP cited research showing that excessive television watching can transform kids into unhealthy couch potatoes with few friends, poor grades, and aggressive tendencies."

  "As a result of the AAP statement, pediatricians may begin building a new 'media history' form into checkups to evaluate TV and computer habits. The form could help pinpoint problems such as eating disorders."