Over the weekend, the Star Tribune continued the growing drum beat of understandable excitement for Super Bowl LII, as it steadily approaches U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The article also plays the typical NFL-enabling drum beat of caution against local businesses that might see fit to fairly and truthfully reference the Super Bowl in some commercial manner:
“From the NFL’s viewpoint, if businesses use the terms or other trademarks, it could appear like it is an official part of the Super Bowl or its related events, said Dolores DiBella, one of the lead intellectual property attorneys for the NFL.”
Perhaps the NFL would like to live in a world where no business can use the words “Super Bowl” without paying a fee; that isn’t the world we live in, especially given the growing judicial drum beat and emphasis on Free Speech and the First Amendment in the trademark/copyright worlds.
Nowhere in the article is there any acknowledgement that the NFL has long been accused of behaving as a trademark bully and overreaching with its valuable intellectual property rights.
The legal test for trademark infringement (likelihood of confusion) is not shown when a use “could appear like it is an official part of the Super Bowl or its related events,” the mere possibility is simply not enough, the likelihood of confusion must be probable.
Nowhere in the article is there any mention of trademark fair use; classic or nominative fair use. Nowhere is there any mention of Free Speech or the First Amendment. Even, this kind.
And, for those wondering whether the Super Bowl trademark might be famous and deserving of dilution protection, let’s not forget, the future of trademark dilution law is in question.
So, while it is true that not uttering the words “Super Bowl” will help a business play it safe and avoid all the fire and fury of the NFL, for those who are properly advised and have insurance coverage for advertising injury, that would be a very big game worth watching (or playing) too.