Heading into this year’s Super Bowl party season, there are two things every lawyer should be concerned about. First, why can’t your team get it together? Second, what do you do if you are asked to explain to your friends and neighbors some NFL-related litigation that you haven’t been following? We can’t help you with the first problem (although, as an Iggles fan living in the heart of Patriots Nation,… More
In American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the National Football League was subject to suit under the Sherman Antitrust Act regarding its practices in licensing team trademarks to merchandisers. Between 1963 and 2000, the IP licensing entity set up by the league, NFL Properties, had “granted nonexclusive licenses to a number of vendors,” including American Needle, “permitting them to manufacture and sell apparel bearing team insignias.” In 2000,… More