Legality Question - Athlete name

4476 Views 13 Replies 9 Participants Last post by TYGERON, Mar 23, 2012

ActiveState

Discussion Starter · Mar 20, 2012

Hello there,

I am curious to know if it's possible to use an athlete's last name in a shirt design? There is no picture of them, no first name, just the last name and the jersey number. No reference to NFL, or Team. All fonts are allowed for commercial use.

Is this legal?

Thanks,
Lorne

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kimura-mma

· #2 · Mar 20, 2012

No, it's not legal. The NFL and NFLPA own the merchandising rights to all players as part of their collective bargaining agreement.

No Manning soup for you...

But you can drive Tebow to the airport. I hear he's a good tipper...

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ActiveState

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 20, 2012

Kimura,

Thanks for the response. I was afraid of that. What if I just used the number 18? And the word Man in it?

I don't want to press my luck, but it's pretty lame of the NFL if I can't use a number and a word?

Look here: Release 15 T-Shirt | TAUNTR.COM this was a shirt from last year, is this legal? (not mine btw, just found it on google. No idea who's it is.)

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kimura-mma

· #4 · Mar 20, 2012

ActiveState said:
What if I just used the number 18? And the word Man in it?

No whammies, no whammies, no whammies...

In other words, you would be pressing your luck.

ActiveState said:
I don't want to press my luck, but it's pretty lame of the NFL if I can't use a number and a word?

It's worse than you think. The NFL is notorious for taking action to protect their IP. They have even sent C&D letters even when they don't own the IP being used.

ActiveState said:
Look here: Release 15 T-Shirt | TAUNTR.COM this was a shirt from last year, is this legal? (not mine btw, just found it on google. No idea who's it is.)

This type of stuff sits in the grey area. Maybe they get caught, maybe they don't. Maybe they can win in court, maybe they can't.

The best thing to do in these situations is ask yourself how much money can you reasonably expect to make. If that amount is worth the potential risk of legal fees and time spent in court, then go for it. If it's a modest amount, then don't even bother.

Besides, won't most people rather spend on official Broncos merchandise than whatever generic design you come up with?

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camconcay

· #5 · Mar 20, 2012

While the design you linked to is probably not an infringement, you have to weigh the risk VS the reward. The NFL probably has much deeper pockets than most screen printers and will go after you leaving you at the mercy of their money and our court system. Sadly "right" doesn't always win.

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Enrique

· #6 · Mar 21, 2012

Even if the league didn't own merchandising rights, the athlete themselves could come after you for making money on their name.

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dick514

· #7 · Mar 21, 2012

kimura-mma said:
No whammies, no whammies, no whammies...

In other words, you would be pressing your luck.

It's worse than you think. The NFL is notorious for taking action to protect their IP. They have even sent C&D letters even when they don't own the IP being used.

This type of stuff sits in the grey area. Maybe they get caught, maybe they don't. Maybe they can win in court, maybe they can't.

The best thing to do in these situations is ask yourself how much money can you reasonably expect to make. If that amount is worth the potential risk of legal fees and time spent in court, then go for it. If it's a modest amount, then don't even bother.

Besides, won't most people rather spend on official Broncos merchandise than whatever generic design you come up with?

thank you

See less See more

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TYGERON

· #8 · Mar 21, 2012

"No whammies, no whammies, no whammies...
In other words, you would be pressing your luck."

Haaa-haaa-haaaaa!!!!!

1983-86

I remember this guy made a replica game to practice with and won big money.

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Riderz Ready

· #9 · Mar 21, 2012

I would bet your issue is not with a single shirt but if you have a collection of shirts. As an example - Manning does not own the rights to his name or the number 18. That would be like saying any person with the last name "Manning" could never play a sport and use the number 18.

On the flip side if you have a web site with all famous athletes name and their associated number your intent would be clear.

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kimura-mma

· #10 · Mar 21, 2012

Riderz Ready said:
Manning does not own the rights to his name

He sure does.

Right of Publicity laws grant all people the right to exclusively profit off their own name and likeness on merchandise.

Sure, you can make the argument that someone else with the name Manning can make shirts and claim they are simply using their own name. But the spirit of the law is to grant rights to those who rely on their "publicity" as a livelihood. My money would be on Peyton to win in court against some other person with the last name Manning.

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fubarsport

· #11 · Mar 23, 2012

The link was with a Radio Station 104.3 The Fan in Denver CO which most likely proceeds are going to some charity.

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PositiveDave

· #12 · Mar 23, 2012

I remember a Scottish teashop in a quaint little village owned by Mrs McDonald. She got writ-bombed by a well-known purveyor of obesity, she lost.

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kimura-mma

· #13 · Mar 23, 2012

True story...
There was a Samantha Buck who opened up a small little coffee shop in the pacific northwest. She called it SamBucks. She got shut down and put out of business for trademark infringement. Guess who was responsible for that one?

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TYGERON

· #14 · Mar 23, 2012

I like the story of Paul Simon and the song "Kodachrome". They were about to give him the smackdown but someone was smart enough to note how much free publicity Kodak was getting and the power of song.

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