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1 Intell. Prop. @ Sports L. 1 (2022-2023)

handle is hein.journals/illpyspslw1 and id is 1 raw text is: Winter 2022 Vol. 1, Issue 1 Is The Battle Over USFL Intellectual Property Much Ado About Nothing? By Gary Chester; Senior Writer T rjhen last seen in court, the United States Football YV League was licking its wounds over a meritorious 1986 antitrust case against the NFL that netted it a whopping $1 in damages, trebled to $3, plus $5.5 million in attorney's fees and costs. Failing to obtain the billions it sought from the NFL, the USFL promptly folded after completing just three seasons. Fast forward to June 3, 2021, when businesses known as The Spring League (TSL) and USFL Enterprises announced the launch of a revamped USFL with eight teams that would play primarily in Birmingham, Alabama, to limit costs. The new USFL is clearly a made-for-TV venture that Fox Sports owns and operates. Fox and NBC covered the league's inaugural ten-week schedule and three postseason games. Nine months after the initial announcement, nine former Federal Court Delivers Win to Pac- 12 in Trademark Case A federal judge from the Eastern District of Washington has Sdenied a sporting goods retailer's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by schools in the Pac-12 athletic conference, which alleged that the defendant impermissibly used the plaintiffs' trademarks and trade dress. By way of background, the court noted that each of the 12 universities in the conference owns and uses trademarks and trade dress in connection with their respective institutions. Some of the marks are federally registered while others are associated with their institutions through historical use. Meanwhile, the defendant sells and distributes sports and team merchandise on its websites, both ofwhich are believed to be owned and operated by Chad Hartvigson, who operates out of a single office location in Seattle, Washington. The websites offer various apparel stores that are categorized by school mascot or geographic location. The apparel stores display merchandise options with the relevant school colors and branding. The defendant does not have See FEDERAL on page 9 USFL team owners and devisees formed a new company called The Real USFL. The purpose of the entity is to hold and en- force the original USFL trademarks. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California evaluated their trademark claims in Real USFL, LLC v. Fox Sports, Inc., et al., 2022 WL 1134487 (April 14, 2022). See USFL on page 7 Copyright © 2022 Hackney Publications (hackneypublications.com) Intellectual Property and Sports Law