[GN]

I don't really think Tebow will win this, but it seems that as of right now the website is down:


Report: Tebow sends cease and desist letter to maker of Jesus-y Jets T-shirts | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports

 

[DAGuide]

I usually read all these posts like this to get the feel of the industry and do not respond. But this one has gone too far. I think Timmy has gone to far. Most likely (but I am not for certain) he is not the first Christian to ever play for the Jets. In addition, there is a disclaimer at the bottom of the page saying it has nothing to do with him.

I read the statement that while in Denver, Timmy had no problem with the jerseys that had the name JESUS and the numbers 15 on it only as long as it was done with the right intentions. Whether you are religious or not, famous people don't have the right to dictate when when people can do this. Whether it is for the "wrong intentions", political satire or several other reasons... we have the right to exercise our First Amendment rights. More importantly, he does not own the trademark Jesus or My Jesus. What is next? He grows his hair out and then claims the rights to all depictions of Jesus because he has long hair?

He is just doing this for more attention. His head has gotten as big as NYC. I hope this goes to court to and the shirt companies gets awarded attorneys fees. I am one of the last people to urge people to court, but I would be a supporter in this case.

Mark

 

[bornover]

I don't get why Tebow thinks this is about him. I was liking the guy, but this smacks of a growing ego and feeling of personal self importance. He needs to reverse course and apologize to Cubby Tees who is doing nothing more than Kerusso has done for years (making a Christian statement out of a mainstream logo). He has lost my respect.

 

[GN]

I wasn't there, but giving him the benfit of the doubt - I wouldn't be suprised if it's more Tebow's lawyers than it is actually Tebow.

 

[bornover]

I wasn't there, but giving him the benfit of the doubt - I wouldn't be suprised if it's more Tebow's lawyers than it is actually Tebow.

Tebow needs to have control over his dogs (no offense Mark), ultimately it is still on him.

 

[Rodney]

At first glance, it may seem like Tim Tebow should have no gripe here. My first reaction was that the Jets/NFL have a bigger beef because the logo is so similar to the official team logo.

After a bit more digging though, I can see why Tim Tebow's attorneys were upset.

The Yahoo article says:

"...the shirt itself contains absolutely no Tebow references."

And the t-shirt sellers say

"...they sent a response to Tebow's representatives, stating that the design "shares nothing with Mr. Tebow except for promotion of a common Lord and Savior.""

(I put the emphasis on the seller's actual quote)

Which would have been easier to believe if they didn't actively market the t-shirt as a "Tim Tebow New York Jets T-Shirt"

Here's a screenshot from the google search results page for that design (which is probably how the attorneys found the t-shirt in the first place)

You can't have it both ways

I don't think you can say the design has *nothing* to do with Tim Tebow, but then actively market the design as a "Tim Tebow New York Jets T-Shirt". Even the product name shown in the name of the HTML page was called "tebowjesus".

I think that is what got them in trouble more than the actual design (even though the actual design is pretty close to the NY Jets official logo...as the article said, that has been done before with other teams)

Probably to lawyer types, it looks like the sellers was actively trying to profit from the use of Tim Tebow's name/brand.

If the t-shirt was just named "My Jesus" and the site made no reference to Tim Tebow or any professional athletes, it probably would've been easier to claim the t-shirt had no association with the player.

But those keywords in the webpage TITLE and in the product title seem to make that a harder claim to make (in my totally not a lawyer laymans opinion)

 

[GN]

Tebow needs to have control over his dogs (no offense Mark), ultimately it is still on him.

Oh yeah I absolutely agree with that! The buck stops at him.

 

[GN]

At first glance, it may seem like Tim Tebow should have no gripe here. My first reaction was that the Jets/NFL have a bigger beef because the logo is so similar to the official team logo.

After a bit more digging though, I can see why Tim Tebow's attorneys were upset.

The Yahoo article says:

And the t-shirt sellers say


(I put the emphasis on the seller's actual quote)

Which would have been easier to believe if they didn't actively market the t-shirt as a "Tim Tebow New York Jets T-Shirt"

Here's a screenshot from the google search results page for that design (which is probably how the attorneys found the t-shirt in the first place)

You can't have it both ways

I don't think you can say the design has *nothing* to do with Tim Tebow, but then actively market the design as a "Tim Tebow New York Jets T-Shirt". Even the product name shown in the name of the HTML page was called "tebowjesus".

I think that is what got them in trouble more than the actual design (even though the actual design is pretty close to the NY Jets official logo...as the article said, that has been done before with other teams)

Probably to lawyer types, it looks like the sellers was actively trying to profit from the use of Tim Tebow's name/brand.

If the t-shirt was just named "My Jesus" and the site made no reference to Tim Tebow or any professional athletes, it probably would've been easier to claim the t-shirt had no association with the player.

But those keywords in the webpage TITLE and in the product title seem to make that a harder claim to make (in my totally not a lawyer laymans opinion)

Good find. I went to the site but it was down. If it says all that, then defintely Tebow and his lawyers did the right thing and the Tshirt owners should lose thier case.

 

[bornover]

Oh Rodney, you had to go and actually check into this and wreck my comments. Now I have to eat crow. OK Tim, you got my respect back; sorry bro, I repent.

 

[Rodney]

Oh Rodney, you had to go and actually check into this and wreck my comments. Now I have to eat crow. OK Tim, you got my respect back; sorry bro, I repent.

Sorry for the crow aftertaste

It just really seemed like something was missing from the story. With just what was written, it didn't seem like it would be worth the attorney's time, so I figured there had to be something more.

When you look at the cached version of their site and other products, the association between the player and the t-shirts becomes a bit more clear.

 

[kimura-mma]

Yep, I think Rodney hit the nail on the head here. It's more than just the t-shirt design itself. It's all in the marketing. They are using an association to Tebow to sell more shirts. The design itself infringes more on the Jets and NFL than Tebow. But their marketing is what infringes on Tebow directly.

 

[allhamps]

Thanks Rodney for the research. Can't have it both ways. Mark, still no respect from me for Mr. Tebow. He certainly is NOT the first Christian to participate in sports, and NOT the first or only athlete to take the "prayer" stance. It is insulting to have such an observance to Jesus termed "Tebowing". I've been involved in sports all my life pretty much, and I was being THANKFUL, not Tebowing

 

[GN]

Thanks Rodney for the research. Can't have it both ways. Mark, still no respect from me for Mr. Tebow. He certainly is NOT the first Christian to participate in sports, and NOT the first or only athlete to take the "prayer" stance. It is insulting to have such an observance to Jesus termed "Tebowing". I've been involved in sports all my life pretty much, and I was being THANKFUL, not Tebowing

Well i'm not so certain that Tebow came up with the term "tebowing". He was giving thanks the way he had through college by kneeling (as others have done in the past). Some media conglomerate termed the phrase and associated it with him.

 

[bornover]

Yep, I think Rodney hit the nail on the head here. It's more than just the t-shirt design itself. It's all in the marketing. They are using an association to Tebow to sell more shirts. The design itself infringes more on the Jets and NFL than Tebow. But their marketing is what infringes on Tebow directly.

Kerusso has done this play on a logo thing for decades. I always wondered why they pretty much got left alone by the corporate world. Still don't understand. I personally don't like it (legal issues aside), I think it is pretty silly and actually effects Christanity in negative ways of non-Christian people's perception.

... Mark, still no respect from me for Mr. Tebow. He certainly is NOT the first Christian to participate in sports, and NOT the first or only athlete to take the "prayer" stance. It is insulting to have such an observance to Jesus termed "Tebowing". I've been involved in sports all my life pretty much, and I was being THANKFUL, not Tebowing

From what I can tell from media coverage, Tim Tebow seems to have good integrity and be a man of principle. I can respect that. As far as I can tell, Tim never intended the "Tebowing" thing as anything other than his personal thankfulness to the Lord for his blessings. He did do it in public and we all know what the media did with it. If he is now trying to capitalize on it, I can't respect that (if it is the case).

Then Cuby Tees trying to capitalize on Tim Tebow, and supposedly being a Christian company (are they saying they are?), that would be hypocritical in my understanding of the Christian faith.

I obviously like Christian t-shirts, but for me, I made the decision to only produce product with original artwork and content, and not try to latch on to anyone's coat tails.

 

[kimura-mma]

Kerusso has done this play on a logo thing for decades. I always wondered why they pretty much got left alone by the corporate world. Still don't understand. I personally don't like it (legal issues aside), I think it is pretty silly and actually effects Christanity in negative ways of non-Christian people's perception.

My guess is, the brands that are parodied by Kerusso do not want the negative publicity of suing a "Christian" company.

The Tebow situation is different. I don't believe the Christian aspect is the issue. It's that Tebow's name is being used to describe a product that he does not contractually endorse. Tebow's name, likeness and persona are his intellectual property. And he is protecting that. Over his career, Tebow will make much more money on sponsorships than he will playing football.

 

[bornover]

I do have to say, if I were to reboot my t-shirt business, I would like Tim Tebow to wear and endorse my product. That probably would help boost my sales significantly. I'd also like to get some Christian Metal bands and artists to wear my stuff to.

 

[GN]

I do have to say, if I were to reboot my t-shirt business, I would like Tim Tebow to wear and endorse my product. That probably would help boost my sales significantly. I'd also like to get some Christian Metal bands and artists to wear my stuff to.

Never too late to try and no harm in trying. I've been trying to get Chuck Norris to endorse my brand..so far so good!! (because he hasn't said no- lol)

 

[TshirtLuke]

Anybody heard the latest on what is happening with cubby tees vs tim tebow?
To me it seems like an open shut case. Cubby tees used tim tebow to sell t-shirts. His name is all over the website, url address and key words. Just because you warn people on your website that tim tebow doesn't endorse cubby tees in anyway, DOESN'T mean jack squat. Reminds me of the Kansas City t-shirt maker that used kansas jayhawks on his t-shirts but did so in a sneaky way, using their colors and printing the word kansas on them.