An Oakland teenager is claiming the A's "stole the 'StOAKed' brand name he coined" in '12 for his line of shirts, beanies and hoodies, according to Maggie Sharpe of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Ryan Frigo said that he "created the name and apparel to combat negative perceptions of his hometown and boost pride in the city." The A's recently "advertised a 'Stoaked' T-shirt on its website to celebrate the team's playoff run." Frigo learned that the club was using "Stoaked" on its post-season T-shirts "about a month ago." He called both the A's and MLB but, after "getting the runaround, he consulted a lawyer about what he saw as an infringement of his brand." Frigo: "If they thought of the name themselves, they would have googled 'Stoaked' to see if it was already in use -- and my website is the first to pop up." Frigo believes an A's designer "probably stumbled upon his brand, realized Frigo wasn't a big corporation and basically just stole the name." Sharpe noted Frigo had "tried to trademark StOAKed, but a trademark -- with the correct spelling -- already existed." However, he believes his brand name is "protected under Common Law Trademark Rights." A's VP/Communications & Broadcasting Ken Pries in a statement said that only 126 T-shirts were sold, "grossing $2,770 and none were sold at team stores." Pries: "As a gesture of good will, Majestic is no longer selling or producing the shirts and will destroy all unsold shirts" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 1/8).
