College Football Coaches Register Names as Trademarks

As the debate rages on over whether collegiate athletes should be allowed to profit from the use of their names and likenesses by their universities or the NCAA, big-name college coaches show no inclination to take a stand for solidarity. Prominent coaches are finding increasingly creative ways of profiting from their own personal image and brand, and registering their names as trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is just the beginning. It turns out that Clemson University head coach Dabo Swinney has had the trademark in his name registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office—for both clothing and for charitable fundraising services—since 2010. Both registrations are owned by Swinney personally, and he also has a deal with the University to sell merchandise bearing his name.

One of the only deals of its kind, Swinney’s agent says that royalties, so far, have been minimal, but there is talk of a new line of casual wear. “I think there’s a value to Dabo’s name and likeness,” his agent says, “and it’s to the point where it can be broken out separately and compensated separately.”

Urban Meyer, another big name in college football, also has his name as the subject of two pending federal trademark applications—URBAN MEYER and URBAN MEYER KNOWS. Interestingly, Ohio State University, and not Urban Meyer own these two trademark applications. As Urban Meyer has also coached at Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida, as well as working for ESPN, I’d love to know what type of agreement exists between Ohio State and Urban Meyer for ownership of that name in the event that Meyer leaves or is fired.

Bill Snyder at Kansas State is another interesting case. He has a detailed licensing agreement with the University regarding use of his name and image, as does Chris Peterson of Boise State. Steve Sarkisian, at Washington, has the right to approve all uses of his name, voice, signature, or likeness, and a third-party trademark application for the mark SARK TANK was rejected, in part based on the fact that Sarkisian’s consent was not of record, as he is commonly known by the nickname “Sark.”

As these college coaches are increasingly able to profit off of their names and likenesses, their players are barred for receiving any compensation for the use of their names and likenesses while in college. And so, Coach Swinney is able to profit from the use of his name on merchandise in the University store, but his best players are denied compensation for jersey sales that feature their name and number—a fact that has many active and former players up in arms, and some even pursuing legal action. In fact, one of Swinney’s senior cornerbacks, Darius Robinson, is one of five active collegiate players that are named plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the NCAA regarding its use of the player’s names and likenesses.

While Johnny Football may not be the poster-boy for a poor kid that needs the extra money to make ends meet in college, there does seem to be something disingenuous about a system that allows the coach to profit off of the use of his name and likeness, and yet denies that same profitability to the athletes that make his teams win.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/11/06/college-football-coaches-pay-name-likeness-trademarks/3449829/ http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/clemson-coach-dabo-swinney-trademarked-own-name-204716506--ncaaf.html

For more information on this topic, please visit our Trademarks service page.

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 IP law firm and its IP law 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.