As the Chicago Cubs begin the battle for the World Series title for the first time in over a century, attorneys for the Cubs and Major League Baseball (MLB) are involved in their own battle off the field. The Cubs and MLB recently filed a federal lawsuit against nearly 40 vendors accusing them of allegedly selling knockoff and counterfeit merchandise (including online vendors), and sought an order allowing the seizure of counterfeit or infringing merchandise being sold around Wrigley Field. The Cubs and MLB are accusing the vendors of “deliberately free riding” on the success of the Cubs and trading on the substantial goodwill associated with the Cubs’ valuable trademarks. The Cubs argue that the use of their trademarks on unlicensed products confuses the public and creates the false impression that the infringing goods are genuine Cubs merchandise. The claims by the league and club include counterfeiting, as well as state, federal, and common law trademark infringement and dilution, unfair competition, and deceptive trade practices violations.

The peddling of unofficial Cubs merchandise near Wrigley Field has been going on for years. But with their recent success and trip to the playoffs – and now the World Series – the Cubs stand to make a lot of money from merchandise sales (despite their game 1 loss). While it is unclear how much a postseason appearance increases merchandise sales, the Cubs have banked on several players that ranked in the top 10 on MLB’s list of top-selling player jerseys through the first half of the year. So with the threat of even more lost sales of club gear to counterfeiters after its 100-plus wins this season, the Cubs and MLB have set out to stop vendors from cashing in on the swarms of fans by “brazenly” using the Cubs’ trademarks to “dupe unwitting fans” into purchasing knockoff products.

The sports industry generates billions of dollars each year and sports franchises can be very valuable. In fact, topping the Forbes’ 2016 list of most valuable sports teams in the world is the Dallas Cowboys, at $4 billion. The Cubs make a showing at #21 on the list with a value of $2.2 billion. Not too shabby.

Part of a team’s value is its brand and a team’s trademarks and logos are at its heart. Just think of the thousands of diehard fans who don the t-shirts, jerseys, and other garb of their favorite teams at sporting events. A team’s brand and trademarks not only serve as a source of pride for fans, but are also an important source of revenue for the team. And the more successful a team is, the more value its brand and trademarks carry. In the wake of its most successful season in decades, the Cubs are determined to protect its increasingly valuable brand.

Are the vendors mere criminals unfairly profiting off of the passion of fans and the intellectual property of sports teams? Or does it seem unfair for the Cubs to go after the vendors after so many years now that they are having a little post-season success?

It is certain that the winner of the Cubs’ on-field battle will be decided long before its legal battle has ended. But let this be a lesson to think twice about selling those cute, custom-made t-shirts and onesies that display your favorite team’s logo on your Etsy store, otherwise you may find yourself in a battle of your own. While it’s impossible for sports leagues and teams to target every seller of unlicensed gear, the Cubs and MLB have made it clear that they won’t shy away from protecting their valuable intellectual property.

For more information on this topic, please visit our Trademark Protection service page, which is part of our Trademark Practice.

Klemchuk LLP is an Intellectual Property (IP), Technology, Internet, and Business law firm located in Dallas, TX.  The firm offers comprehensive legal services including litigation and enforcement of all forms of IP as well as registration and licensing of patents, trademarks, trade dress, and copyrights.  The firm also provides a wide range of technology, Internet, e-commerce, and business services including business planning, formation, and financing, mergers and acquisitions, business litigation, data privacy, and domain name dispute resolution.  Additional information about the trademark firm and its trademark attorneys may be found at www.klemchuk.com.

Klemchuk LLP hosts Culture Counts, a blog devoted to the discussion of law firm culture and corporate core values with frequent topics about positive work environment, conscious capitalism, entrepreneurial management, positive workplace culture, workplace productivity, and corporate core values.

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