6 This, of course, required paying licensing fees to the NFL. 5 Previously, producers who used NFL team logos and uniforms in their vehicles first entered into a licensing agreement with the NFL. Some industry insiders assumed that the NFL would take action against HBO and that HBO would eventually have to pay the NFL for using the various team logos and uniforms they were astonished to see a company taking on the NFL in such a way. 3 He is wearing what clearly appears to be a Dolphin’s uniform-logo in plain view-and is chasing down the Buffalo Bills quarterback, whose helmet logo is also visible. 2 The cable series began with Johnson’s character, Spencer Strassmore, having flashbacks from his playing days for the Miami Dolphins. 1 When news spread that HBO was not paying licensing fees to the NFL for depicting the NFL logo and team uniforms, it caught many by surprise. The owners of these brands or rights, however, may employ their own aggressive measures to combat this trend in order to control and protect these rights.Īn example of this trend is illustrated by HBO’s use of NFL (i.e., the “National Football League”) trademarks and logos in the show Ballers, which stars Dwayne Johnson. The justification that industry actors rely on is that using these rights falls under the fair use defense, which excuses the lack of express authorization to use an owner’s trademarks or life story rights. This new trend demonstrates that entertainment industry actors are taking a more aggressive approach to using another’s intellectual property, putting them potentially at odds with the owners of those rights, whose objectives are to police and protect that brand with the public. And the same is true in the related area of life story rights. In recent years, a trend appears to be emerging in the entertainment industry where such use will occur without a party preliminarily seeking express consent. Conventional wisdom, in the trademark arena, has been that a party who wishes to use the trademark of another party must first obtain a license.
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