Sad Raiders Fans Fail To Keep Team In Oakland By Squatting On Trademark

from the told-you dept

Thu, May 4th 2017 2:52pm — Timothy Geigner

It was way back in the early part of 2016 that the rumors came out that the Oakland Raiders football team would be moving to a new home city. Fans were understandably upset and voiced their displeasure in a variety of ways, but the dumbest of those ways certainly must have been Lane Blue's attempt to trademark the team name in conjunction with all of the different potential landing cities the team was rumored to be moving to, including the "Las Vegas Raiders." Lane wasn't the only sad Raiders fan to attempt this, it seems, as we now see reporting on his and other trademark applications being denied for obvious reasons.

Lane Blue, an air-freight company owner from Fresno, Calif., said that he applied for the trademark in an effort to stop the Raiders from relocating to Las Vegas.

"If I own the trademark that’s worth possibly millions of dollars, maybe I can talk them into staying," Blue said, per KCBS.

Blue's application was denied, as is likely with everyone else who applied for the trademark.

The reason for the denial is that trademarks must be used in commerce in order to be valid. Trolling your favorite NFL team in order to prevent it from moving cities is not, as best as I can tell, a form of commerce. Instead, it's a form of being a mere annoyance to both that team and the Trademark Office. These squatting attempts, motivated either by fandom or attempts at a quick cash-grab, almost never work.

"These people think they’re going to cash in, and 99.9 percent of the time, they’re wrong," sports-trademark attorney Patrick Jennings said, per KCBS. "For a trademark lawyer, it doesn’t take much effort to knock those (applications) out separate from the patent and trademark office."

The only effect these applications are likely to have on the Raiders is a delay on them receiving the trademark. That could still be damaging, though, as knock-off "Las Vegas Raiders" gear is already flooding the marketplace.

And that's supremely unfair for the Raiders ownership to have to spend the time and capital slapping these applications down. Meanwhile, of course, the Trademark Office is collecting the application fees from members of the public who somehow think a trademark application will bend an NFL team to its knees. Sorry, Raiders fans and get-rich-quick people, it isn't going to work.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: lane blue, not how it works, raiders, trademark, trademark squatting

14 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 May 2017 @ 2:53pm

Possible use in commerce
So he failed because he didn't, say, set up a line of Las Vegas Raiders bobble head dolls? No likenesses of any existing being past, present, or future used of course, though parody might have been rampant. Oh, the horrors of such missed opportunities.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
TheResidentSkeptic (profile), 4 May 2017 @ 3:14pm

Think about it ZIppy..
..if the team gave a rats ass about the "fans" they wouldn't be moving. Oakland has had some seriously rabid fans for many years.

So it is just another middle finger to all the fans who built them up to the point they could leave for "greener" ($$$$$) pastures...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
streetlight (profile), 4 May 2017 @ 3:25pm

If the guy had been successful
The Las Vegas NFL team could be called the Slots, or the Craps, or the Black Jacks, or....
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2017 @ 3:46pm

Re: Think about it ZIppy..
As I said when they left for L.A,. Raiders the Traders. Look at them doing it yet again. They flee Oakland, then they flee L.A. now they're fleeing Oakland again. Why would anyone give a rats ass about this team anymore?

Still have the 49'ers for what it's worth. Though the new Stadium is in a crap place.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2017 @ 3:49pm

Re: If the guy had been successful
Call them the Losers. They keep fleeing their fans over and over again. What do you think most people do in Las Vegas? Lose MONEY. Them Casino's didn't get built from everyone winning money. Most people lose money. So between the customers losing money and them fleeing their fan's, The should just be called the Las Vegas Losers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 May 2017 @ 3:59pm

Re: Re: If the guy had been successful
Interesting point. Who builds their stadiums? The team or the taxpayers? They can pay millions for marginal players, but cannot afford to build their own stadiums.

I gave up on professional sports decades ago. I gave up on collegiate sports a decade less ago. I am hoping that high school sports won't become corrupted so fast, but I am not holding my breath.

If only we could get the 'fans' interested in another spectator sport. Political funding? We, the people, certainly cannot afford to participate.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2017 @ 8:45pm

Funny thing
We pay for highways buss stations and truckers use.
We pay for airports and such.
We pay for these things with multiple billions of dollars.
Yes, they pay taxes.
No, it's not even 1/10 of a percent recouped in taxes.

But if it's Amtrak - Oh. My. God! We -MUST- shut it down!!! (less than 1.5 billion dollars)
I guess it's because rich people use everything but Amtrak.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
seedeevee (profile), 4 May 2017 @ 9:27pm

"And that's supremely unfair for the Raiders ownership to have to spend the time and capital slapping these applications down."

I don't get the joke.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 May 2017 @ 4:50am

Still have the 49'ers
You think they care about their fans any more than any other major league sports organization seems to these days?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Pixelation, 5 May 2017 @ 7:50am

So move
If it's such a big deal to be around the Raiders, move to Las Vegas. Home prices and rental costs are through the roof and people leaving Oakland will help out.

I'm wondering if they will be making silver and black Skittles...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
orbitalinsertion (profile), 5 May 2017 @ 9:42am

Re: Re: Re: If the guy had been successful
This is why i think the trademark applications are stupid, but can only laugh at, "And that's supremely unfair for the Raiders ownership..." They live in and off of a world of unfair, from ridiculous subsidization to price gouging and all manner of special considerations and vast hordes of lies about how they bring anything to the economy, all because of a cultural addiction.

Is it stupid? Yes. Technically unfair? Yes. Unfair in any real, ethical sense? Not even a noticeable scuff on the topcoat of the paint of the unfairness in the balance. But yeah still awful trademark behavior.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 May 2017 @ 11:59am

Re: Re: Think about it ZIppy..
It's "Traitors" not traders. Although one could perhaps say that a pirate mascot could in fact be both.

I seriously doubt you went to any games at the Oakland Coliseum anyway. Otherwise you might understand things with a bit more clarity....
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2017 @ 7:52am

Re: Re: Re: Think about it ZIppy..
Nope, never went to any of their games. Still don't give a crap about them then or now. How they could have any fans left at this point? Now they can be in a city that's mostly tourists. Few real fans there. Give it 10 years maybe and they'll flee to someplace else. I find it funny yet sad. Worse the taxpayers that get screwed over these stadium deals.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2017 @ 7:55am

Re: Funny thing
Nope, never went to any of their games. Still don't give a crap about them then or now. How they could have any fans left at this point? Now they can be in a city that's mostly tourists. Few real fans there. Give it 10 years maybe and they'll flee to someplace else. I find it funny yet sad. Worse the taxpayers that get screwed over these stadium deals.

The last time I was at the Oakland Coliseum was for a Pink Floyd Concert. That's how long it's been. Early 90's. Division Bell Tour.
[ link to this | view in thread ]