The Supreme Court Clarifies Trademark Law; Its Implications for the Sports Industry

By Jeff Birren, Senior Writer Introduction Licensed merchandise is a significant revenue source for college and professional sports. Team shops, stores and warehouses are over-flowing with licensed merchandise bearing the names, marks, and logos of teams from sea to shining sea, and so, too, for other businesses. Jack Daniel’s, the whiskey maker, frowned on a product that parodied its brand in a chewable dog toy. Litigation followed. The Ninth Circuit was led astray by a prior Second Cir