The baseball blog and podcast world was shaken up early in May with news that several baseball fan podcasts had been removed from iTunes for trademark reasons. Major League Baseball (MLB), which owns the trademarks associated with the various teams, was accused of having betrayed its diehard fans in the interest of locking down its intellectual property. What really happened, and is it OK to use the name or logo of a team in your blog or podcast?
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Archives: Sports Law
Tattoo Copyright Update
October 8, 2013
Tattoo Copyright Update Last year, I wrote a blog post titled “Can Tattoos Be Copyrighted?” The issue arose due to a lawsuit between Warner Brothers, the distributors of The Hangover Part II, and S. Victor Whitmill, the artist who created Mike Tyson’s famous facial tattoo. In the movie, Ed Helms’ character wakes up with an identical tattoo. The lawsuit was eventually settled, of course, and the terms of the settlement were not disclosed, of course. But the case brought the issue of tattoo copyrights to the public consciousness. The issue continues to develop, so I felt it was time to…
Is it the Super Bowl or The Big Game?
January 31, 2013
Is it the Super Bowl or The Big Game? The NFL playoffs are over, the AFC and NFC championships have been decided, and you know what that means: lots of advertisements about “The Big Game!” Which Big Game? The Super Bowl, of course. Everyone knows it’s called the Super Bowl. Why do advertisers and businesses large and small use the codeword “Big Game?” Can we all just use the term “Super Bowl” after all?
Gold Glove Trademark Battle: Color as a Trademark
August 30, 2012
Gold Glove Trademark Battle If you’re a baseball fan, you’re familiar with Rawlings Gold Glove Award, an award given to various players for their defensive excellence. What you may not know is that Rawlings Sporting Goods owns U.S. trademark registrations for several marks including GOLD GLOVE and GOLD GLOVE AWARD. Rawlings is serious about enforcing their rights against any competitors. In July, Rawlings filed a lawsuit against Wilson Sporting Goods for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and false advertising, as well as a few state law claims, in connection with its Gold Glove trademarks. In its complaint, Rawlings claimed that Wilson…
