Thursday, February 17, 2011

Trademark Law implicated in Jordan-32 statue?

There's some buzz about a statue of Michael Jordan, wearing a Bulls uniform with the number 32 (as distinct from 23).

Within a sports.yahoo story: Though we couldn't pin down the exact reason for the error, there are plenty of theories. It could be an intentional error to avoid trademark infringement (which probably doesn't work since copying the Bulls jersey itself is illegal).

One suspects that the specific number itself is not part of the trademark registration, and that a misnumbering is neither here nor there. Selling a statue involving an official Chicago Bulls uniform, with any number, might be a problem, as the statue buyer might think the NBA was the source.

But, how sophisticated is the buyer? Doesn't Jimmy Kimmel know that Michael Jordan's number was 23? If he bought a statue with a number 32 did he think it really came from the NBA? Who knows?

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