# Remember to call it the Big Game **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 16, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531 "2020-01-16T22:19:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/21 "2020-01-17T18:01:09Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I did read the article, but I honestly don’t understand their legal stance and that position seems to implicate free speech concerns. > > I mean, let’s stick with Bud Light. That is a trademark so that when the public sees “Bud Light” they know that they are getting the beer brewed by Anheuser Busch, and whether you love it or hate it, that is what you are getting. If I brew beer in my basement, I cannot call my beer (assuming I am advertising or marketing it) Bud Light or use the logo because that may cause confusion for customers. Some people might buy my beer thinking that they are getting the Anheuser Busch stuff and further, if I make really bad beer, then that may reflect poorly on the real Bud Light. In short, Anheuser Busch has the right that anything sold in the country that is called Bud Light should be only their product. > > I get all of that; I understand it and agree with it. But if I advertise for my bar and say “Saturday Special. Two Bud Lights for $4” I am simply stating a true fact. You can come to my bar on Saturday and get two Bud Lights for $4. The real Bud Light. Or you can come to my bar and watch the Super Bowl. I haven’t said anything misleading, nor have I tried to pass off inferior or different items as those trademarked things. > > I could see if I made a statement like “Your local source for Bud Light/ the Super Bowl” as that implies some sort of official connection with those items. But if all I do is say that those things, the real things, are available here, then I cannot possibly see the rationale for not allowing it, and as I said above, it seems like a free speech issue. I believe the distinction is that if you advertise that your bar is serving Bud Light, it means that you purchased products from Anheuser Busch. So they’re cool with you. But if you’re advertising that your bar is a good venue for watching the Superbowl on a big-screen TV, the NFL isn’t getting any revenue out of you. You’re using their product name for free to promote your business. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/22 "2020-01-17T18:01:13Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I honestly don’t understand this. I thought the idea of trademark and trademark infringement was to protect against a likelihood of confusion between two things. So, the NFL trademarks “Super Bowl” so therefore I cannot call the church league tag football game the “Super Bowl” and nobody else can call their game that. > > But if I advertise to come to my sports bar to watch the Super Bowl, how am I violating their trademark? I’m not calling anything of my own a “Super Bowl”; I am saying to come to my bar to watch the trademarked Super Bowl. > > How is that a violation? It would be like saying I cannot put a Bud Light sign in the window because that is a registered trademark of Anheuser Busch. Well, yes it is, but I’m selling it, not advertising my shitty beer as Bud Light. [You’re not violating they’re trademark, they just want people to think you are.](https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120202/04205917638/hey-advertisers-stop-believing-nfls-lies-about-trademark-law-call-super-bowl-super-bowl.shtml) The name of the game is the Super Bowl. You can call that game the Super Bowl. What you can’t do is suggest that you are somehow affiliated with or a sponsor of the Super Bowl. “Corner Sports Bar will have the Super Bowl playing on five 80” TVs!" Not infringing, but they’ll still probably get cease and desists and angry letters. “Corner Sports Bar, your official Super Bowl headquarters!” Probably infringing, as it suggests there is a relationship or endorsement between the Super Bowl and Corner Sports Bar. “Come watch the Corner Sports Bar Super Bowl on February 2!” (which is actually a pick-up game of flag football in the parking lot). Is almost definitely infringing. I am not a trademark lawyer, I’m not a lawyer, and I’m not your not-lawyer, either. Even thinking about mentioning the Super Bowl in advertising is going to get a you an angry letter, even if the NFL can’t back it up with actual law, they still have more money than you. Don’t buy into these over reaching rules that sports leagues want you to believe. You can refer to the Super Bowl. You can describe a game of major league baseball without permission of the MLB. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/23 "2020-01-17T19:21:35Z")
Do the owners of other sports trademarks guard them as zealously? Can my bar advertise an event centered around the Cotton Bowl, or the Olympic games (“Watch all the events from the Games of the XXXII Olympiad at Moe’s Tavern”)? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/24 "2020-01-17T19:30:22Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Do the owners of other sports trademarks guard them as zealously? Can my bar advertise an event centered around the Cotton Bowl, or the Olympic games (“Watch all the events from the Games of the XXXII Olympiad at Moe’s Tavern”)? I don’t know about the Cotton Bowl, but the Olympics are [incredibly vigilant about protecting their trademarks](http://www.genericfairuse.com/2016/08/04/olympic-trademarks-are-sacred-and-easily-infringed/). To the point where cities bidding for the Olympics have to [include their plans](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/apr/13/olympics-2012-branding-police-sponsors) to **immediately** force any businesses using the name “Olympics” or the 5 rings without permission to take them down. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/25 "2020-01-17T19:38:23Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Do the owners of other sports trademarks guard them as zealously? Can my bar advertise an event centered around the Cotton Bowl, or the Olympic games (“Watch all the events from the Games of the XXXII Olympiad at Moe’s Tavern”)? The IOC absolutely [is at least as zealous](http://theconversation.com/how-the-ioc-effectively-maintains-a-gag-order-on-nonsponsors-of-the-olympics-63747), if not more so, about stopping people from using the word “Olympics” or the rings logo. Of course, “Olympic” is a Greek word, and there are many (non-sports-related) businesses in the U.S. named “Olympic,” s[ome of which have successfully fended off the IOC’s legal concerns.](https://qz.com/759843/the-ioc-got-mad-at-this-artisanal-salami-maker-for-using-olympic-in-their-name/) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/26 "2020-01-17T19:46:53Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Superb Owl Many Superb owls at: [Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superbowl/) ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/27 "2020-01-17T19:54:40Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Exquisite Hawk? > Marvelous Eagle? > > Darn it, I know it’s something like that. > > Glorious Kestrel? > > It’ll come to me… Extraordinary Canary. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/28 "2020-01-17T20:04:26Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I don’t know about the Cotton Bowl, but the Olympics are [incredibly vigilant about protecting their trademarks](http://www.genericfairuse.com/2016/08/04/olympic-trademarks-are-sacred-and-easily-infringed/). To the point where cities bidding for the Olympics have to [include their plans](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/apr/13/olympics-2012-branding-police-sponsors) to **immediately** force any businesses using the name “Olympics” or the 5 rings without permission to take them down. I would have the same objection to that type of enforcement. If my bar says “Come Saturday to watch the Olympics!” and I am actually showing the real Olympics, then I am communicating a true statement that should be protected speech. If I am chasing my dog around the area behind the bar and calling that the Olympics, then I am violating their trademark. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/29 "2020-01-18T01:26:40Z")
There was a gay olympics but they were forced to call it gay games. Fender threatened a guy who was selling a bass for calling it “similar to P-Bass.” Everyone who would buy it knew he meant similar to Precision Bass. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/30 "2020-01-18T01:31:25Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I honestly don’t understand this. I thought the idea of trademark and trademark infringement was to protect against a likelihood of confusion between two things. So, the NFL trademarks “Super Bowl” so therefore I cannot call the church league tag football game the “Super Bowl” and nobody else can call their game that. > > But if I advertise to come to my sports bar to watch the Super Bowl, how am I violating their trademark? I’m not calling anything of my own a “Super Bowl”; I am saying to come to my bar to watch the trademarked Super Bowl. > > How is that a violation? It would be like saying I cannot put a Bud Light sign in the window because that is a registered trademark of Anheuser Busch. Well, yes it is, but I’m selling it, not advertising my shitty beer as Bud Light. You’re a lawyer, right? Shouldn’t you know this shit already? (Mods, this is NOT an insult, I’m genuinely curious as to how a lawyer would NOT know this) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/31 "2020-01-18T03:08:29Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > You’re a lawyer, right? Shouldn’t you know this shit already? > > (Mods, this is NOT an insult, I’m genuinely curious as to how a lawyer would NOT know this) I don’t deal in trademark law. Just because a person is a lawyer doesn’t mean that he or she knows everything about every aspect of law. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/32 "2020-01-18T03:13:33Z")
What does Superman pour his Wheaties into every morning? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/33 "2020-01-18T03:25:37Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What does Superman pour his Wheaties into every morning? A Super Bowl, upper case. He can do that because there is no such event established to exist in the canon of the DC Universe. Okay, I don’t actually know that for certain, but it would be a tidy solution to the dilemma you pose. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/34 "2020-01-18T03:31:33Z")
I remember Tony Randall on the Carson show promoting a new show he was on. Carson did not want to say it was on ABC so Tony asked him to say the alphabet and he stopped him after C. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/35 "2020-01-18T05:18:58Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I don’t deal in trademark law. Just because a person is a lawyer doesn’t mean that he or she knows everything about every aspect of law. Do you mind if I ask what your specialty is? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/36 "2020-01-18T05:30:44Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I remember Tony Randall on the Carson show promoting a new show he was on. Carson did not want to say it was on ABC so Tony asked him to say the alphabet and he stopped him after C. 🙂 Back then, there seemed to be an unwritten rule (or maybe it was a written rule 😉 ) about not mentioning the other TV networks by name; on shows like Carson’s, one would often hear him refer to his guest as “starring on a show on another network.” That doesn’t seem to be the case any longer; if one watches, say, the NFL or the NCAA tournament on one network, they will now readily mention on which networks other games will be appearing, even if those networks are under different ownership. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/37 "2020-01-18T12:21:16Z")
Used to be an unwritten rule to not mention other brands in commercials. They would say Tide is better than Brand X for example. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/38 "2020-01-18T14:00:01Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Do you mind if I ask what your specialty is? Criminal defense. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/39 "2020-01-18T19:14:21Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Used to be an unwritten rule to not mention other brands in commercials. They would say Tide is better than Brand X for example. I remember those days. The first I can think of direct brand naming was Coke V Pepsi commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531/40 "2020-01-18T23:02:56Z")
The Lanham Trademark Act of 1946 combines several aspects of trademark law, unfair competition law, and consumer protection law. So there are several different types of violations that get lumped under “trademark” violations, such as— Trademark infringement (including passing off and reverse passing off) Trademark dilution Trademark counterfeiting Trade dress infringement False advertising False affiliation, connection, or association False designation of origin False description False representation Cybersquatting When the NFL goes after bars, those actions are based on the idea that bars are creating a false association between the NFL’s services and the bars’ services. This is also known as “free riding.” The idea is that you can’t use the reputation of the NFL to promote your business. So if you have no affiliation with the NFL you can’t use the NFL’s trademarks to promote your business. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-to-call-it-the-big-game/846531.md?page=3)