College Basketball and the Law: Tips for Understanding the Legal Madness!
With men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments well underway, it is important for bloggers, broadcasters, and business owners to be aware of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s® (NCAA) intellectual property rights and laws governing sales promotions related to basketball tournaments. For example, some people may be unaware that the NCAA strictly enforces its intellectual property including the following trademarks. Champions Play Here® The Big Dance® March Madness® The Final Four® NCAA Sweet 16® The Road to the Final Four® NCAA Sweet Sixteen® We are the Game®
These trademarks are merely representative of an extensive list of trademarks (click here for the full list) in which the NCAA must provide approval in order for the trademarks and logos to be used in connection with sales activities for products and/or services. For example, displaying signage that includes “March Madness” in a clothing store window or posting an advertisement that reads “Champions Play Here” in a blog post directed to promoting a fitness studio should only be done after receiving written approval from the NCAA. Otherwise, it may be a good idea to consider using terms that may be more generic, such as, “college basketball tournaments” and “the college basketball championship.”
Each year during the month of March, several companies participate in college basketball office pools or bracket competitions. However, some companies are not aware that their office pool may be illegal. By allowing everyone to participate at no charge and without imposing non-monetary requirements, generally conducting an illegal office pool may be avoided. Of course, awarding a prize to the winner or betting between friends from your home may be in compliance with the law. But, be aware that contests offering NCAA tournament tickets as a prize should only be awarded to winners with written permission from the NCAA in order to avoid unauthorized distribution of tickets. While it is unlikely your company is under surveillance, it is important to note that illegal gambling can cost participants jail time.
As college basketball tournaments present an opportunity to capitalize on a large market for nearly a month, creating marketing materials and contests can help make business boom. To avoid losing profits to any legal madness, it may be a good idea to consult an attorney to help your business safeguard itself from any legal risks.
Sources: http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2016/02/don-t-let-your-march-madness-sales-promotion-bust.html http://www.martindale.com/intellectual-property-law/article_Lerman-Senter-PLLC_1690040.htm http://www.ncaa.org/championships/marketing/ncaa-trademarks
For more information on this topic, please visit our Trademark, Copyright, and Corporate & Commercial service pages.
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