This situation is not happening to me, but I am very curious as to the possible legal consequences and defenses in play.
There is a Canadian-based (offices in Ontario and New York) company producing unlicensed material for commercial sale with portions of professional sports teams logos on them. The images are instantly recognizable as part of the team logo, especially in the context of the product (which only marketable because of the sport) and with a player's name and usually image on the product as well. About 10 percent of this particular product line has partial images on it, and I'd guesstimate about 15-20 percent of the logo is reproduced on the product. The product is sold in Canada and throughout the US. All the logos are trademarked.
My question is this - how much of a logo must be reprinted in order for it to be trademark violation and what could potential consequences be if it's in violation? I've done a lot of reading on trademark law tonight, and I'm pretty certain it's a violation. But while I can find text about copyright violations for partial/significant reproductions without reproducing the full item in question, I can't find much about partial use of trademarked images/logos.
This company has had a very contentious relationship with the league in question after the league chose not to renew its license several years ago, but the people in charge also know how to cover their own butts, so I suspect they believe they have a right to reprint these portions of the logos. I just can't figure out their rationale.
There is a Canadian-based (offices in Ontario and New York) company producing unlicensed material for commercial sale with portions of professional sports teams logos on them. The images are instantly recognizable as part of the team logo, especially in the context of the product (which only marketable because of the sport) and with a player's name and usually image on the product as well. About 10 percent of this particular product line has partial images on it, and I'd guesstimate about 15-20 percent of the logo is reproduced on the product. The product is sold in Canada and throughout the US. All the logos are trademarked.
My question is this - how much of a logo must be reprinted in order for it to be trademark violation and what could potential consequences be if it's in violation? I've done a lot of reading on trademark law tonight, and I'm pretty certain it's a violation. But while I can find text about copyright violations for partial/significant reproductions without reproducing the full item in question, I can't find much about partial use of trademarked images/logos.
This company has had a very contentious relationship with the league in question after the league chose not to renew its license several years ago, but the people in charge also know how to cover their own butts, so I suspect they believe they have a right to reprint these portions of the logos. I just can't figure out their rationale.