Who Dat Knows When Who Dat Will Stop?
Another Who Dat fights for Who Dat rights...
Just when you thought it was over, and this year's Super Bowl is a distant media memory, another Who Dat shows up to join the never-ending Who Dat fight. [See our earlier Feb. 5 and Mar. 1 articles]
A Louisiana company Who Dat? Inc., owned by brothers Sal and Steve Monistere, claims they hold the Louisiana and common law trademark rights to the disputed "Who Dat" term, filed an infringement suit on March 4th in the United States District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish against the NFL, the Saints and even the Attorney General of Louisiana, James D. “Buddy” Caldwell.
The Monisteres claim, in a media statement, that they “have sought to find peaceful resolutions to many of the problems associated with the recent ruckus involving who owns WhoDat? and [that they] decided to wait until the end of the Saints season to file the complaint against the league.”
The Monisteres further claim that they “[h]ad no choice but to seek redress in the courts in order to protect their rights as the first to mark it for trade and create a secondary meaning which qualifies them for ownership of the trademark right to Who Dat?”
They claim that Who Dat? Inc. "also owns a federal trademark related to “Who Dat?” and has several filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as well as the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office.”
The NFL first caught the media's attention when it pursued New Orleans t-shirt vendors for selling "Who Dat" t-shirts. The NFL quickly issued a public clarification of its position and retracted from its initially aggressive position on the issue when Louisiana's Attorney General “Buddy” Caldwell challenged the NFL and stated that "Who Dat" belonged to no one, and stated that "Who Dat" was in the public domain before the Super Bowl.
Who Dat had enough already?
Original article published March 8, 2010. Update published March 9, 2010.
Here's a copy of the complaint:
Who Dat Inc. v. Saints, NFL and Sec. of State of Louisiana
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First “Who Dat”, Now “Finish Strong” – Saints Success Behind Another Trademark Dispute
New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees is widely known for using the "Finish Strong " mantra as part of a motivating pregame chant with his team this past football season. As we have discussed earlier, the Saints recent success generated a lot of new interest in, and demand for, apparel associated with the Saints and their historic Super Bowl-winning season.
The potential opportunity that this created was not lost on Reebok; and it recently began selling t-shirts with the phrase "We Finish Strong" ... "We are the Saints" in combination with a graphic of the Saints in a team huddle.
Unfortunately for Reebok, another apparel company - Finish Strong, LLC - asserts that it owns earlier rights to the "Finish Strong" mark for clothing based on a October 6, 1998 trademark registration (No. 2,193, 411). Dan Green, the owner of Illinois-based Finish Strong, LLC, has promoted a line of clothing for over a decade under the Finish Strong brand. He also authored a book, reportedly selling over 100,000 copies, that includes the Finish Strong phrase in its title. There is even a Finish Strong movie based on Green's book.
On Feb 25, 2010, Finish Strong filed a 27-page complaint, including exhibits, alleging trademark infringement and other related claims against Reebok in federal court in Illinois.
The complaint, provided below, is an interesting read. Like many small companies that file suits against large companies in "David vs. Goliath" situations, Finish Strong positions itself for the highest possible damages claim, by really emphasizing the amount of time, effort and expense invested to launch and build the Finish Strong brand in its complaint.
The complaint also mentions that Drew Brees' charity, the Brees Dream Foundation, licensed the "Finish Strong" trademark from Finish Strong LLC to use on T-shirts sold to benefit the charity. Accordingly, as a licensee (and a really important one for Finish Strong, LLC), neither Brees nor his charity are parties in this litigation.
The Times-Picayune news reported that prior to the start of this past season, Drew Brees distributed copies of the Finish Strong book to teammates, along with rubber bracelets and T-shirts bearing the message. Later, as the season progressed, the "Finish Strong" slogan became closley connnected with the Saints during the team's recent winning season.
As a result of this lawsuit, we expect that Reebok is probably now trying to negotiate a similar licensing deal with Finish Strong, LLC as away to settle this suit.
On a lighter note, while not party to this litigation either, Chicago Bears fans have a number of significant issues with this case as well:
- Why was Finish Strong, LLC, a Chicago area-based company, distributing copies of its motivational book to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints?
- Did Finish Strong, LLC send copies to Bear QB Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears?
- If so, why didn't Cutler and the Bears adopt the Finish Strong slogan and go the Super Bowl this year?
This case may settle before we get all of those answers, but until then here's the complaint.
Finish Strong, LLC v. Reebok International, Ltd.
Original article published Mar. 1, 2010
Update published Mar. 6, 2010
Who Dat Controversy – NFL v. T-Shirt Vendors
In the recent media run up to the Super Bowl, a trademark battle between the National Football League (NFL) and New Orleans t-shirt vendors has garnered enough attention worthy of a pre-game show and a bit of off-the-field analysis here at Inside Trademarks.
About a month ago, the NFL sent cease and desist letters to several New Orleans t-shirt vendors ordering them to stop marketing, producing or selling t-shirts bearing the phrase "Who Dat" and Saints or NFL trademarks. The "Who Dat" chant has been chanted by Saints fans for years at football games, and has origins going back to the 1930's (pre-dating the NFL).
Many initial media reports stated that the NFL claimed to own the trademark to the term "Who dat" in these letters , and that the NFL asserted that unlicensed t-shirts bearing the phrase "Who dat" would cause confusion among consumers and fans shopping for official Saints gear (i.e. NFL licensed merchandise).
These letters and the media buzz that ensued stirred up the Who Dat Nation (Saints fans) and many football fans in general. The NFL's trademark enforcement action even provoked responses from U.S. Senator David Vitter and Congressman Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, and the Attorney General of Louisiana among others. They even sent letters and conducted teleconference calls with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell regarding the NFL's reported attempt to claim ownership of "Who Dat".
All the negative press prompted the NFL to issue a "clarification" of its position. And on Feb. 1, 2010, the NFL through its spokesman, stated that it only intended to challenge the sale of apparel that uses “Who Dat” in connection with the Saints’ trademarks or logos, and has no interest in pursuing merchandise that just has “Who Dat” logos, and that the NFL will only take enforcement action when the “Who Dat” is advertised as official Saints or NFL gear.
So, why all the controvery? To put it simply - Money.
The NFL monetizes it trademarks better than any other sports business in the US. In fact, the NFL generates hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, from the sale and licensing of NFL apparel and merchandise. Reportedly, the 10 best selling jerseys in the entire sports business all come from the NFL. (Forbes, Oct. 30, 2009).
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