Cutouts will be available in Friday's editions of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily NewsTwitter
Independence Blue Cross, Philadelphia’s largest health insurer, is "sponsoring dog mask cutouts that the company will make available" prior to Super Bowl LII, according to John George of the PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL. The cutouts were "inspired by the dog masks first worn during the playoffs" by Eagles OT Lane Johnson and DE Chris Long. The dog mask cutouts "will be available for free as inserts in Friday's editions of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News." Independence Blue Cross President & CEO Daniel Hilferty said that the insurer is "also making a $10,000 donation to The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia in support of the fundraising campaign started by Johnson and Long" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/29).
PATENT PENDING: In Philadelphia, William Bender noted the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s database is "full of teams, players, and fans jostling behind the scenes to secure exclusive rights to names, memes, slogans, and even numbers." Eagles RB LeGarrette Blount has trademarked "Blount Force Trauma"; S Malcolm Jenkins’ nonprofit foundation owns “No Phly Zone”; and the team itself "filed an application last week to lock down the rights to the phrase 'Fly Eagles Fly.'" The Eagles have also "sought to trademark '53 Angry Men,' which was inspired by a win over the Patriots" in '15. Meanwhile, Gronk Nation, a limited liability corporation run by the family of Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, has "trademarked the word Gronk for use on caps, hats, sweaters, T-shirts, wristbands, and 'snap crotch shirts for infants and toddlers'" (PHILLY.com, 1/29).
