On Tuesday, October 26, 2021, Cleveland Roller Derby filed suit against the Cleveland Guardians Baseball Company, LLC, which is the entity formerly known as the Cleveland Indians Baseball Company, over its intent to rebrand the baseball team as the Cleveland Guardians. According to Cleveland Roller Derby’s complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, there cannot be two Cleveland Guardian teams in Cleveland, and it was the first. As a result, it is seeking an injunction precluding the baseball team from using the trademark. According to Cleveland Roller Derby, a non-profit entity, despite being valued at over $1 billion, the baseball team is trying to bulldoze the roller derby team’s superior trademark rights to the Guardians name.
Continue Reading Baseball Versus Roller Derby – Cleveland’s Battle for the Guardians Trademark

The Los Angeles Clippers and Intuit have entered into a 23-year naming rights agreement whereby the Clippers have agreed to name their new $1.8 billion arena in Inglewood, California, the Intuit Dome. The arena is currently under construction just south of the new SoFi Stadium and the Hollywood Park development. It is scheduled to open in 2024.
Continue Reading Los Angeles Clippers and Intuit Enter into 23-Year Naming Rights Agreement and Name the New Arena in Inglewood Intuit Dome

In this week’s episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the NCAA’s recent policy change which allows college athletes to monetize their NIL, as well as potential downsides to the new policy.
Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Dealmaking Pitfalls in NCAA’s New NIL Policy

At last, the NCAA has changed its policy on college athletes monetizing their name, image, and likeness, also known as their NIL. Who cares if the Supreme Court forced the NCAA’s hands in Alston v. NCAA, which didn’t directly address the issue but provided clear indicia that the Court intended to deal with the issue eventually? What matters is that college athletes can finally market their valuable NIL and enrich themselves while the NCAA is enriching itself during their college careers. But, of course, no benefit comes without its risks.
Continue Reading Pitfalls Related to NCAA’s New Policy on Name, Image and Likeness

In this week’s episode of The Briefing by the IP Law BlogScott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the Ninth Circuit Ruling on the trademark aspects of Dr. Seuss “mashups.” They also provide a recap of last week’s episode, which covers the copyright aspects of the case.

Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Dr. Seuss Sets Photon Torpedoes on Star Trek Mashup in 9th Circuit Appeal (Part Two, Trademark)