A few months ago, state legislatures were hacking away at the foundations of NCAA “amateurism” by passing laws to allow students athletes to receive compensation for use of their name, image, and likeness. Celebrity athletes such as LeBron James, Draymond Green, and Richard Sherman praise the fall of the NCAA “amateurism” model and look forward... Continue Reading →
It is unlikely anyone reading this does not know about Nike: a company that ranks among the top of the list of Fortune 500 companies that are the largest United States corporations by total revenue, Nike permeates every facet of athletics - from sportswear to advertising to equipment. In 2014, Nike was valued at $19... Continue Reading →
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has refused Tom Brady’s attempt to trademark “Tom Terrific.” Here’s why Brady did it and why his approach failed. Here in Western New York, Tom Brady is called many unsavory names, some of which I can’t put in this post. One thing I can assure you is that “Tom... Continue Reading →
Will Ohio State succeed in obtaining a trademark in the most commonly used word in the English language? On August 8th, 2019, Ohio State University filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for the grammatical article “THE.” Ohio State, which is officially designated by Ohio state law as “The Ohio... Continue Reading →
While it is common for sports leagues and organizations to be protective of their trademarks, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has unique trademark rights over various Olympic-related trademarks that no other American organization has. The 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo in just over a year from now. In preparation for the... Continue Reading →
The new Seattle NHL Franchise will be settling upon a name in the not-so-distant future, though they will have to be sure to avoid the trademark issues that affected the Vegas Golden Knights. On December 4th, 2018, the National Hockey League (NHL) awarded the City of Seattle an expansion team to the delight of Seattle... Continue Reading →
Outdoor apparel company Patagonia has sued Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser’s parent company, for trademark infringement over a beer line using the same name. This week, outdoor apparel company Patagonia filed a lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev, Budweiser’s parent company. Their lawsuit claims that the beer company’s Patagonia beer infringes its trademark in “Patagonia.” In addition, Patagonia alleges that... Continue Reading →
Serie A soccer club Inter Milan filed a trademark application for “Inter,” but Major League Soccer filed a notice of opposition since it would impact their newest expansion team, Inter Miami CF. Another sports trademark battle is on the horizon, this time between two soccer teams over the word “Inter.” Back in 2014, Serie A... Continue Reading →
Left: Jacobus Rentmeester's original photograph for Life Magazine in 1984. Upper right: Nike's promotional photo for Air Jordan, taken in 1985. Bottom right: Nike's famous "Jumpman" logo, which was adapted from Nike's photo of Jordan and introduced in 1987. After spending years in lower federal courts, the Supreme Court has denied certiorari in a copyright... Continue Reading →
A recent petition is calling for Gillette to end its naming rights sponsorship of the Patriots’ stadium in response to Robert Kraft’s criminal charges. These developments could lead to morals clauses regarding team owner conduct being standard in stadium naming rights agreements. The sports world was rocked last month when New England Patriots owner Robert... Continue Reading →