# Why can't they say "Super Bowl" on the radio? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 25, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547 "2006-01-25T14:47:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/1 "2006-01-25T14:47:16Z")
I understand it’s a copywritten name, but why can’t the local radio stations say “We’re giving away two tickets to the Super Bowl”? They all seem to have to resort to dancing all around the phrase, without actually uttering those two magical words. Is it because they stand to profit by the use of the name in their contests? They can’t even say the names of the teams. It seems a bit silly, as ultimately don’t the owners of the copyright stand to benefit through the most exposure to their “brand name”? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/2 "2006-01-25T14:56:31Z")
Yep. The NFL has a trademark on the term ‘SuperBowl’ and charges to allow for-profit enterprises to use it. If they allow someone who hasn’t paid to use it they cheapen the value that they can charge their ‘official’ sponsors for the right to use it. And they don’t want that, believe me. Note: News programs and such can use the term just fine. You won’t see a local sports anchor dancing around the subject. Or the guys on ESPN. Unless it’s in a commercial and their station or network hasn’t worked it out. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/3 "2006-01-25T15:06:27Z")
Please use ‘search’, as this subject gets worked over every January. It has been beaten to death. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/4 "2006-01-25T15:41:45Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Please use ‘search’, as this subject gets worked over every January. It has been beaten to death. That was a bit mean. Why not just answer the question or provide a link or two? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/5 "2006-01-25T15:57:51Z")
Guests have an excuse for not searching, but part of the culture here is that members of several years standing should know to do a search before posting obvious questions that probably have been handled before. And once again an OP fails to understand the difference between copyright and trademark. Super Bowl is a trademark, and by law trademarks _must_ be rigorously defended _at all times_. A trademark owner doesn’t get to say “oh, that’s just a minor violation” or “that’s just making our name more valuable.” If violations are not defended, someone can challenge the entire trademark in court and have a much better chance of winning. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/6 "2006-01-25T16:14:28Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Please use ‘search’, as this subject gets worked over every January. It has been beaten to death. Sure, but you do realise that things tend to change over time, and not every single question asked in GQ gets a perfect answer, right? Not that it applies to this particular OP. It grinds on me when someone knee jerks a “Do a search next time!!” without providing a link to a satisfactory thread. How does **philster** know the topic has been answered correctly in any previous thread(s) unless he himself has done a search, and then if he has done a search he should be able to provide the link to the thread. Thankyou. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/7 "2006-01-25T16:29:32Z")
Just say, “Superb Owl.” ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/8 "2006-01-25T16:33:46Z")
To summarize everything in every other thread, ever: 1. Trademark must be defended. 2. Never been tested in court. See #1. 3. Probably okay due to right of first sale, but see #2. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/9 "2006-01-25T16:40:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Yep. The NFL has a trademark on the term ‘SuperBowl’ and charges to allow for-profit enterprises to use it. If they allow someone who hasn’t paid to use it they cheapen the value that they can charge their ‘official’ sponsors for the right to use it. And they don’t want that, believe me. I don’t understand the ratyionale here. Certainly Kleenex gets annoyed when people call other tissues “Kleenex”, and Xerox gets annoyed when people use the product and company name as a generic verb for “photocopy”. That causes the uniqueness of their brand name to be deteriorated, to the point where they might lose that unique name – like _aspirin_ and _cellophane_ and _zipper_ and _adrenaline_. But here people _aren’t_ using the name “Super Bowl” to refer to some other big football game – they’re only using it to refer to the one and only Super Bowkl. There’s no chance of deteriooration of meaning whatsoever. Furthermore, nobody else sues to prevent others from using the name – People talk about “King Kong” climing the “Empire State Building” – not “the big ape movie” with “the big building in New York”. Most people are happy for the publicity. Even the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, which is touchy about their trasdemark, hasn’t stopped people on the radio from talking about “Academy Awards” and “Oscars”. so howcum on the radio this morning the DJs had to say “Big Game” instead of “Super Bowl”? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/10 "2006-01-25T16:44:45Z")
Earlier threads on this question: > **[You can't say "Super Bowl" on the radio without paying for it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=298919)** > > This makes no sense to me. Obviously the NFL wants to keep close tabs on it’s copyright, but why would they not want more viewers who might drive up advertising costs. Clearly, I’m missing something big here. Anyone that wants to reference the Super... > **[Why can't the radio station give away "Super Bowl" tickets?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=235319)** > > My local radio station is advertising a contest to win Super Bowl tickets. But apparently for some reason they can’t say “Super Bowl”. They have to dance around the terms, saying you’ll have a “super” time and it will “bowl” you over. (Where’s that... ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/11 "2006-01-25T16:53:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I don’t understand the ratyionale here. Certainly Kleenex gets annoyed when people call other tissues “Kleenex”, and Xerox gets annoyed when people use the product and company name as a generic verb for “photocopy”. That causes the uniqueness of their brand name to be deteriorated, to the point where they might lose that unique name – like _aspirin_ and _cellophane_ and _zipper_ and _adrenaline_. adrenaline? 😕 I had to look this one up. “adrenaline” is not a trademark, it is a product of the adrenal gland. However, “Adrenalin” is trademarked. Thanks, Webster’s, for clearing that up. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/12 "2006-01-25T16:57:43Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Furthermore, nobody else sues to prevent others from using the name – People talk about “King Kong” climing the “Empire State Building” – not “the big ape movie” with “the big building in New York”. Most people are happy for the publicity. Even the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, which is touchy about their trasdemark, hasn’t stopped people on the radio from talking about “Academy Awards” and “Oscars”. so howcum on the radio this morning the DJs had to say “Big Game” instead of “Super Bowl”? (I think) If the station is giving away tickets or promoting the event in some fashion as to increase exposure for the radio station but hasn’t paid the NFL to explicitly use the term for this purpose then they can’t use the term. IOW, the station gains by the fact that there is a game coming up but can’t use the term aid in the gain without payment to the league. In your other cases it’s unlikely that the station gains from the Oscars, the Academy Awards, or the movie King Kong. Although, if the station were to give away tickets to the movie King Kong could they use the Title in promotions of such activity freely? (I would not think so) ---
**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 25, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/13 "2006-01-25T16:57:48Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > I understand it’s a copywritten name There’s no such word as “copywritten.” It’s “copyrighted.” And you can’t copyright a name. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/14 "2006-01-25T17:04:31Z")
Assuming Super Bowl is a trade mark, where is the confusion over source of goods if the radio presenter is not trying to call _another_ game a Super Bowl? Trade marks don’t cover simply using the word in conversation or transmitted speech unless there it clearly engenders some detriment to the good will of the mark owner. We’re using the words _here_ on a subscription (for-profit) message board, for crying out loud! ---
**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 25, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/15 "2006-01-25T17:11:07Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > Assuming Super Bowl is a trade mark, where is the confusion over source of goods if the radio presenter is not trying to call _another_ game a Super Bowl? Trade marks don’t cover simply using the word in conversation or transmitted speech unless there it clearly engenders some detriment to the good will of the mark owner. > > We’re using the words _here_ on a subscription (for-profit) message board, for crying out loud! The issue is not just that the word is being used to describe the thing (“nominative fair use”). It’s that the mark is being used in connection with a promotion, which, the NFL will argue, is unauthorized and diminishes the value of its mark (“trademark dilution”) and interferes with its own profit-generating exclusive arrangements with other profit-making operations (“exclusive” or “official” Super Bowl-related things). ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/16 "2006-01-25T17:13:27Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > We’re using the words _here_ on a subscription (for-profit) message board, for crying out loud! Yes, but people talking about the Super Bowl here are not marketing or selling anything: they are discussing legal issues. And the SD is not using the phrase “Super Bowl” to sell itself. When a radio station gives away things like game tickets, it is marketing itself; and if it used the phrase “Super Bowl” in that give-away, it would be using the phrase to market itself as a radio station, and so indirectly trying to make money out of the name. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/17 "2006-01-25T17:14:22Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > Assuming Super Bowl is a trade mark, where is the confusion over source of goods if the radio presenter is not trying to call _another_ game a Super Bowl? Trade marks don’t cover simply using the word in conversation or transmitted speech unless there it clearly engenders some detriment to the good will of the mark owner. > > We’re using the words _here_ on a subscription (for-profit) message board, for crying out loud! I think the difference is, we don’t stand to profit from mentioning the Super Bowl. Radio stations and the like who run competitions where Super Bowl tickets are the prize do stand to profit - they don’t just give the tickets away out of the kindness of their hearts. ---
**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 25, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/18 "2006-01-25T17:45:04Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > I think the difference is, we don’t stand to profit from mentioning the Super Bowl. Radio stations and the like who run competitions where Super Bowl tickets are the prize do stand to profit - they don’t just give the tickets away out of the kindness of their hearts. So by the same logic are you not allowed to give away a Ford Mustang without obtaining permission from Ford? You can’t even say what it is you’re giving away? Where does it end? I hate football anyway. I’ll play football or a football video game, but sitting there for 3 hours watching millionaires run around the field for 5 seconds and spend the next 30 seconds scratching their ass isn’t my idea of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/19 "2006-01-25T17:47:51Z")
> [@](#): > > The National Football League (“NFL”) controls all marketing rights with respect to the Super Bowl and its associated trademarks. The NFL uses its protected marks for revenue-raising purposes and reserves the use of such symbols to official sponsors and licensees who have made major investments in order to acquire the right to use these marks. In consideration of these major investments made by official sponsors and licensees, the NFL vigorously protects and enforces its rights in Super Bowl marks. > > Attempting to form an association with the NFL or the Super Bowl in the minds of consumers by using promotions and advertisements designed to create the appearance of a relationship between the station and/or station clients and the Super Bowl — sometimes referred to as “ambush marketing” — is a risky practice. The NFL and its official sponsors may have legal claims for trademark infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, and misappropriation of good will against entities infringing sponsorship rights. Unlicensed use of such trademarks for any purpose, including the sale or promotion of any products or services bearing those marks, for the purpose of trade or to induce the sale of any goods or services is unlawful. Although the use of a disclaimer, such as “not an official sponsor of the Super Bowl” may protect a potential infringer to a certain extent, use of such disclaimers is not fail-safe. > > – snip – > > Under federal law, the NFL retains the exclusive right to control marketing of the Super Bowl and its associated trademarks, including the phrases “Super Bowl”, “Super Sunday”, “National Football League”, “NFL”, and the NFL shield and Super Bowl logos. > > – snip – > > Without permission from the NFL, an entity cannot legally say or print any of these protected words or use these protected logos in its marketing or promotions. Source: [http://www.lsl-law.com/publications/Superbowl.pdf](http://www.lsl-law.com/publications/Superbowl.pdf) (PDF Warning) The above legal opinion address use of “Broadcasts and Promotions Related to Super Bowl XXXVIII.” While dated, the article addresses many of the concerns raised here. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547/20 "2006-01-25T17:48:17Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > So by the same logic are you not allowed to give away a Ford Mustang without obtaining permission from Ford? You can’t even say what it is you’re giving away? Where does it end? > > I hate football anyway. I’ll play football or a football video game, but sitting there for 3 hours watching millionaires run around the field for 5 seconds and spend the next 30 seconds scratching their ass isn’t my idea of fun. I think if Ford wanted to stop you, they’d be completely within their rights to do so. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-they-say-super-bowl-on-the-radio/341547.md?page=2)