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Same Old NFL: League Abuses Trademark to Shut Down New York Jets Parody Store

sameoldjetsstore

By sameoldjetsstore
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sameoldjetsstore
sameoldjetsstore

I run a store selling merch for frustrated Jets fans (read: all Jets fans) that the NFL got taken down through a baseless trademark infringement claim. Thankfully, I have the support of the amazing El

Warfish
Warfish

I wouldn't exactly call it abuse. You're an IP Pirate.  And no, it isn't as cool as the word pirate might imply. Also, if you think folks won't realize this is just an ad thread for your kno

Daddy Wang Doodle
Daddy Wang Doodle

Lock, dump, ban, kill.    Good luck with your store!

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Spoot-Face

Spoot-Face

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, sameoldjetsstore said:

@BROOKLYN JET None of my products are "bootlegs". That's the reason I'm fighting the claim. They're all meant to (somewhat playfully) mock/criticize the team and provide some catharsis for the frustrations of being a Jets fan. It started as me designing a "Sell The Team" shirt solely for myself after CJ promised Gase job security halfway through the season. And then some friends wanted some... and theirs wanted some... and I figured I'd start a store dedicated to creating apparel for Jets fans who want to essentially wear their frustrations. 

Sell The Team Shirts IG Square.png

Do any of these shirts come with "#33 Adams" on the back, per chance?

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SAR I

SAR I

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36 minutes ago, The Crusher said:

No it’s not dude. Not by a long shot. 

The corner has been turned.  Gase and Darnold did all we could have asked from them this year, Gregg is a beast, Christopher Johnson changed the culture in one offseason, just brilliant.

Get onboard the 2020 Jets train.  It's going to be epic.  Pay no mind to those who are trying to bring you down to make a buck on Etsy.

SAR I

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SAR I

SAR I

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12 minutes ago, sameoldjetsstore said:

1992... your hurt is worse than my mine, but I can't wait to see Sammy holding that Lombardi Trophy.

Right, like we're falling for that.  Your business model says the exact opposite about you.  If the Jets win, you lose.  So if you care so little about money, put it where your mouth is-  denounce your foolish attempt to fleece Jets fans with negativity for a buck.  Shut down your site.  Give up your URL.  Do it now.

SAR I

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The Crusher

The Crusher

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11 minutes ago, SAR I said:

The corner has been turned.  Gase and Darnold did all we could have asked from them this year, Gregg is a beast, Christopher Johnson changed the culture in one offseason, just brilliant.

Get onboard the 2020 Jets train.  It's going to be epic.  Pay no mind to those who are trying to bring you down to make a buck on Etsy.

SAR I

Nobody can bring me down, I have you to cheer me up. 

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ZachEY

ZachEY

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5 hours ago, Sperm Edwards said:

It's not even like the target audience to buy your merchandise is different than theirs. Only a Jets fan would wear this, as you pretty much acknowledge in this thread. You are clearly trying to sell Jets-branded merchandise to Jets fans, and are stealing their trademarked logo to do so. That you altered the logo slightly is immaterial. 

You have no chance, nor should you. 

If you were a professional comedian with a show or video podcast, and just created this as a fake logo to put on the screen for 30 seconds during your bit, that would be parody. Even then - if the team so desired - they still might be able to get a TRO to get you to stop rebroadcasting it on your website (plus other sites, too, like YouTube) if the team/owner claims it's damaging the brand and/or reputation (our own follow-up jokes to that claim notwithstanding). 

 What's more, this is a brand new logo the team (pathetically) invested heavily into, was very excited about, and only unveiled less than 1 year ago.

 The reason there is such a law is it's stealing. It's their logo. They own it. You are trying to use it on your merchandise to sell and make a profit, and you did so without the team's consent/permission. That's stealing. That you slightly altered it is a silly argument, since it's obviously only identifiable because you stole their trademarked design in the first place.

If you made you shirt without using the Jets logo and swoosh mark, and in particular if you further used an open source bolt-italic font rather than the one identified with (and I think owned by) the team, then you could do this. But of course no fans would be interested in buying that from you nor wearing it even if given to them for free...which is the very point.

Only thing I could see is if you only copied the font alone (or used a similar but not identical font), but without the Jets logo or that stupid door wedge version of a Nike swoosh. Like the Just End The Season and similar shirts I've seen. That you'd likely get away with, just like the Idzik/Woody billboard. But if that billboard or shirt went up including a blatant ripoff of their logo with swoosh? No. 

Are you saying that the logo is copyrighted by the New York Jets for the private use of their audience and any pictures, descriptions, or accounts without express written consent of the New York Jets are strictly prohibited?

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sameoldjetsstore

sameoldjetsstore

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13 minutes ago, SAR I said:

Right, like we're falling for that.  Your business model says the exact opposite about you.  If the Jets win, you lose.  So if you care so little about money, put it where your mouth is-  denounce your foolish attempt to fleece Jets fans with negativity for a buck.  Shut down your site.  Give up your URL.  Do it now.

Are you always this ornery or is it just past your bedtime?

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ZachEY

ZachEY

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56 minutes ago, sameoldjetsstore said:

I wish I could help, but I think it would violate my retainer to hire another attorney. And their $0/hour rate is a bit more in my price range as a 27-year-old in NYC living paycheck to paycheck. Do you think you can come down a bit on that rate?

I have one, and only one question for you.  Why do you think your attorney is taking this case for free?

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sameoldjetsstore

sameoldjetsstore

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5 minutes ago, TeddEY said:

I have one, and only one question for you.  Why do you think your attorney is taking this case for free?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a non-profit (founded by Steve Wozniak amongst others) that takes on pro bono cases related to free speech, digital civil liberties, and related issues. Trademark bullying by large corporations is something they fight regularly. 

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sameoldjetsstore

sameoldjetsstore

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Just now, JoJoTownsell1 said:

You're clearly in the right and you said you have pro Bono legal assistance. 

Fair question and fair point. I'm asking for help for the same reason that EFF put out a blog post about the trademark infringement claim today... to draw attention to the situation and put pressure on the NFL and/or Shopify to back off.

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Jet Nut

Jet Nut

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3 hours ago, sameoldjetsstore said:

I don't think any of those things. I am not marketing anything, because I don't have anything to market. My store is offline for the foreseeable future, if not permanently, though I'll fight my hardest for that to not be the case. 

So to recap:  you marketed a shirt and pirated the Jets logo, stealing their logo to make money.  

The NFL, looking to protect their product shut you down.  

So now your claim is you’re marketing nothing?  

Because of the suit stopping you from marketing?  
 

Oh and you’re interested in opinions but neg rep everyone who disagrees with your wanting to pirate logos for personal gain. 

top master GIF

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Jet Nut

Jet Nut

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1 hour ago, sameoldjetsstore said:

Trademark bullying by large corporations is something they fight regularly. 

How does something as serious as bullying get mushed in with you believing it’s ok to steal a logo to use for you personal gain?  

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Maxman

Maxman

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4 hours ago, sameoldjetsstore said:

I don't think any of those things. I am not marketing anything, because I don't have anything to market. My store is offline for the foreseeable future, if not permanently, though I'll fight my hardest for that to not be the case. 

I mean this in the nicest way possible but the sooner you come to the realization that your store is offline forever the better off you will be.

If you want to sell these shirts you're going to have to go 1980s old school style selling them out of garbage bags in parking lots and running when you see law enforcement.

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MykePM

MykePM

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Posted

I’m all for “sticking up for the little guy” against “The Man”, but here’s the problem: I’ve loved the Jets for over 40 years and you just came into my life today - and it was because you wanted something from me.  Just from that perspective alone, where do you think my loyalties are going to lie?

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Maxman

Maxman

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1 hour ago, Warfish said:

Twat.

Edit:  But not as much of a Twat as @Thai Jet

Figures your on the side of the IP pirate.

So think back to last summer when I started all the no cursing threads.

There's a no cursing rule for a reason. I don't care what you think of this guy but you're not allowed to break rules.

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Maxman

Maxman

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52 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

So to recap:  you marketed a shirt and pirated the Jets logo, stealing their logo to make money.  

The NFL, looking to protect their product shut you down.  

So now your claim is you’re marketing nothing?  

Because of the suit stopping you from marketing?  
 

Oh and you’re interested in opinions but neg rep everyone who disagrees with your wanting to pirate logos for personal gain. 

top master GIF

I agree with this he did not help his case at all with all these neg reps.

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Maxman

Maxman

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4 hours ago, sameoldjetsstore said:

I'm going to guess the NFL's perspective is that they can send trademark infringement claims to anyone selling any product that has anything to do with any NFL team, whether or not the claim has any validity, and they know that 99.9% of the time the threat alone will scare that person off and they'll close down shop. 

The claim they sent was a copy and paste that didn't specifically address anything related to my store. And in the section where they're asked to note which trademarks are being infringed, they listed all 32 NFL team names, all 32 NFL team logos, the NFL name, and the NFL logo. I'm going to guess that it's somebody's job to troll for e-commerce sites with the name of any of the 32 NFL teams and infringement or not, copy and paste the same thing into the form over and over again. 

Do you know how many trademark claims they've sent us here? None.

I wonder why.

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Maxman

Maxman

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3 hours ago, sameoldjetsstore said:

1992... your hurt is worse than my mine, but I can't wait to see Sammy holding that Lombardi Trophy.

hopefully for you they don't play at MetLife when he wins it because I think you're going to be banned from the stadium by then lol.

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Maxman

Maxman

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2 hours ago, Warfish said:

So you're an IP pirate white-knighting twat.  Got it. 

So I had my finger on the ban button but what I'm going to do is I'm going to log off for the night instead.

If I wake up to a PM telling me how I suck at my moderating the site I'll revisit the first paragraph.

Either way if you want to stay hereknock it off with the cursing.

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dbatesman

dbatesman

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6 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

Vast overstatement here. That hoodie with the logo is tenuous AF. Likelihood of confusion and/or dilution is high at face value.

I’m not judging the merits of the case. I’m just saying there is a case—pushing back on the idea of “making money off of something that looks like something else is inherently illegal.”

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