The Baltimore Raven Wheelchair Basketball Club filed suit in
U.S. District Court yesterday against the NFL's Baltimore Ravens
over exclusive rights to that nickname, according to the
Baltimore SUN. The suit asks for unspecified damages for
trademark infringement as well as an injunction from using the
name in the Baltimore market. A lawyer for the basketball Ravens
says the team has had difficulty raising money, could not print
shirts because the printer claimed they needed a license
agreement from NFL Properties and has received daily phone calls
regarding football tickets and merchandise. Although the
basketball team never registered with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office, Chuck Saber, a DC attorney, says trademark
rights can be set simply by using a name, which the basketball
team has done since '70. Saber said the basketball team "will
be considered the senior user of the mark and it is the
obligation of the junior user to avoid confusion." Saber added
that it will be up to a judge to decide whether the similar names
will cause be "confusion in the marketplace" (John Rivera,
Baltimore SUN, 7/18).
