Take Me Out to the Courthouse · Who Owns the Game?
The Bar That Kept the Name
Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. v. Sed Non Olet Denarius, Ltd. (1993)
Charge: Trademark infringement and unfair competition over a team name (suit against a sports bar)Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New YorkDocket: Who Owns the Game?
Did the team still own its old name after decades of not using it?
The facts
A famous team left its home borough for the West Coast in the late 1950s and stopped using the old name for decades. Around thirty years later, local owners opened a sports bar and restaurant using the old team name in similar script lettering and blue coloring. The league's licensing arm, which had begun licensing the old name on merchandise in the early 1980s, sued for trademark infringement. The bar owners said the team had long ago abandoned the name.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. v. Sed Non Olet Denarius, Ltd., 817 F. Supp. 1103 (S.D.N.Y. 1993)
Read more at cyber.harvard.edu. The source reveals the outcome.