Andrew Coffman’s Post

This is the best time of year. Football is in full swing. It isn't so hot in Mississippi that you want to die. The MLB playoffs are getting good. SNL's Colin Jost and the movies' Scarlett Johansson were at the Mets game this week. Colin wore a Mets hat. Scarlett wore a The Met hat. That says something that many folks find surprising about trademarks. Even the federal registration of a trademark does not give the owner, the exclusive right to use the mark. The Met and the Mets can easily co-exist without a trademark problem. Trademark law is concerned with source identification. The Coke trademark let's you know the product you are buying is from the Coca-Cola company. It allows consumers to understand the source and quality of the product. Trademark law does not give Yale University the right to force Yale Locks to change its name. Nobody thinks Yale Locks have started a side business providing higher education. Nobody (as least nobody reasonable) would think a university was selling locks. My colleague Ashley Heilprin wrote about these issues when The Ohio State University received a federal trademark registration for the word "THE." I'll link to that article in the comments.

Logan Paul's Prime sports drink has accused Lionel Messi's Mas+ sports drink of trade dress infringement. So why is Messi suing Paul? First, trade dress is the overall look and feel of a product or service that indicates or identifies the source of the product or service. The most famous trade dress is probably the shape of Coca-Cola bottles. What trade dress cannot protect is design that is functional. If the design serves a purpose it cannot be protected by trade dress. McDonald's invented the drive-thru window, but adding that to its restaurants was not protectable because it provided functionality. According to Messi, the "trade dress" that Logan Paul's company claims is being infringed is either simply functional or is ubiquitous and, thus, not capable of being a source identifier. When companies receive IP cease and desist letters, it is often a reasonable step to file a declaratory judgment. A declaratory judgment allows a court to determine that a product or service is not infringing. That can prevent the cloud of legal action from hanging over a company. It also allows for a (quicker, not quick) resolution which can reduce damages if the Court determines the product or service infringes. https://lnkd.in/eeYTeqsh

Interested in the future of college sports? Ole Miss Law Professor William W. Berry III is the co-author the new book, "College Sports in a Nutshell." He didn't send me an ARC, but I have a feeling it is going to be a great read. The most interesting thing I have heard Professor Berry say is that the SEC should just employee all the athletes so it can engage in collective bargaining and find the best path forward for players and schools. https://lnkd.in/etECTPPG

I need some help. My friends Lindsay Calhoun and Mary Drabnis have set me up. A week from tomorrow, I'm in Baton Rouge talking about college sports and trademarks. It would be awesome, except for what happened last night in Tiger Stadium. If you are interested in college sports, trademarks, or just have an Ole Miss polo that you could wear to the Phelps Dunbar LLP Baton Rouge office please come on out. The Louisiana State Bar Association will get you some CLE credits and we will talk a lot about SEC sports. https://lnkd.in/e6AWxkkR

Yesterday I had a conversation about how NIL opportunities sometimes put student athletes in bad branding and financial positions. I think one of the biggest questions schools need to be addressing is how are they providing education and protection for athletes around these issues. Then today, I see that Kendrick Perkins is starting a business designed to profit from providing up front cash to athletes. What could go wrong? Would you trade 25% of your future NIL money for $250,000? Pre-NIL world, Baker Mayfield started his college career as a walk-on at Texas Tech. He then transferred to Oklahoma, again without a scholarship. If NIL was allowed at that time, what was the expected value of his future endorsement earnings? A walk-on on his second school would not be worth the risk of advancing $250,000. By the time Mayfield planted the Oklahoma flag at the 50 year line of Ohio State's stadium, 25% of his NIL earnings could have easily been in the seven figures. So much of the changing landscape of college sports is the wild west. Schools and players have to protect themselves and be smart about the agreements they are signing. Just something to think about on this Thursday. https://lnkd.in/g6-CD3qV

Nashville friends - here is a great opportunity with a wonderful person to work with.

Very glad to represent two Phelps Dunbar LLP clients at the Fifth Circuit this week. My wife really wanted Archer to see me argue. I was incredibly nervous about a 7 year old being in the court room, but he did an amazing job. He’s much more self-disciplined than his dad. Plus he only came to the case where we represented the appellee.

I was once in conversation with a politician about defamation. His point, "winners don't sue." Well, failed candidate Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano is suing for defamation, but not related to his campaign. Mastriano claims he is “the victim of a multi-year racketeering and antitrust enterprise” to “debunk his work” that has $10 million in value for “tourism-related events, validated museum artifacts, book, media, television and movie deals.” In 2024, academics are having a fight about Sergeant Alvin York, one the greatest Tennesseans. It's a standard academic dispute. An LSU historian has identified 213 instances of (alleged) mistakes* in Mastriano's book about York. Nothing particularly special about that. Historians have disagreements. I don't have any way to know if these 213 instances are fraud, are mistakes, or are accurate. It's an interesting case and I will be interested to see how it plays out. The historian is going to have a good anti-SLAPP motion (the case is in Oklahoma because the historian previously lived there). *Doug - please don't sue me I said "alleged." https://lnkd.in/eCb4KijC