It’s college football time again! You may be thinking, “what could college football have in common with trademark law?” Well, whenever a fan sees that colleges name and logo on a helmet or every time a fan buys a t-shirt, hat, Pop-Tarts, pacifiers and, yes, even urns and caskets, the importance and value of that college’s trademarks are on full display. […]
Every few years a professional sports franchise starts up, moves cities, or changes names. Recently, we have welcomed the Las Vegas Golden Knights to the NHL (a brand-new team), the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL (formerly the San Diego Chargers) and the not-so-recent New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA (formerly the New Orleans Hornets.) This year, the Oakland Raiders announced […]
One day, while browsing through a competitor’s marketing catalog, a manufacturer of cheerleading uniforms came across cheerleading uniforms that were very similar to the company’s designs. This is how a dispute between two cheerleading uniform companies started, a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court and could have drastic implications in many creative industries. The Initial Question: Are […]
When you hear “March Madness,” it can only mean one thing: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) National Championship Tournament. From its humble beginnings to its widely-known usage today, the NCAA’s March Madness® trademark represents a valuable asset that the NCAA fiercely protects. In fact, over 85% of the NCAA’s yearly budget comes from the advertising and marketing of its three-week […]
In 2017, Las Vegas will launch their first-ever National Hockey League team, bringing professional hockey to Sin City. However, the team’s chosen name, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, is already on thin ice. The team’s trademark applications were denied based on pre-existing registered trademarks containing the words GOLDEN KNIGHTS. In July 2016, ESPN reported that owner Bill Foley was having trouble […]
In a near complete win for the Blackhorse defendants and the United States government, the Eastern District of Virginia granted summary judgement on almost all claims in favor of the defendants and ordered the cancellation of six of the Washington Redskins federal trademark registrations. The Eastern District held that the Redskins marks “may disparage” Native Americans. The ruling was also a win for […]
The USPTO’s Trademark Trial & Appeal Board held that, given the nature of the collectible goods that are often sold in limited batches, the mark LIMITED for sports trading cards was merely descriptive and not entitled to registration. TTAB Case Background Both parties in this case, Panini American Inc. and the Topps Company, Inc., manufacture and sell sports trading cards. Last […]
The Super Bowl is coming up soon and two teams, the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will battle it out for the championship. But who is winning the trademark battle? The Super Bowl trademark itself has had its fair share of trademark controversy over the years, but this article will explore the trademark filings and oppositions of the Seattle […]
Shortly after California Chrome won the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’s coveted and elusive Triple Crown, news emerged that the horse’s owners had filed to register the name as a trademark with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. In fact, they had made the filing on May 15th – before California Chrome had even won the second […]