...explain to someone (an ad salesperson in this case) why they can't use a trademarked phrase such as "March Madness" in an ad without permission from the holder of the trademark? Our customer has used the phrase on fliers, so the salesperson doesn't see why I can't put it in the ad. He's probably pissed at me because if one of the other designers in my office had done the the ad, they probably wouldn't have been as geeky as me to make sure I could use the phrase. I used to work in sports marketing, so I know that there are people out there who keep their antennae tuned to unauthorized usage such as this. Am I being overly cautious in not wanting to use it?
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designerd- Jul 2005
- 125
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Yes you are!
- Nov 2005
- 3588
You know the guy who says "Lets get ready to rumble" at the start of boxing matches and other similar events. That guy has trademarked that phrase and if its used by someone else and he or I guess his lawyers find out he will sue you. If I am not mistaken the phrase March Madness is trademarked by the NCAA and I think they would pretty much sue their own mother for using it without permission. -
designerd
- Jul 2005
- 125
Yeah, I know that and you know that. My problem is explaining this fairly basic concept to a salesman who doesn't want to hear it. He's been a salesman for many years and I've been a designer for only a handful. How do I tell him "I know better than you" without sounding like I'm being overly anal or disrespectful?Comment
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designerd
- Jul 2005
- 125
(Oh, and I did make it clear that I couldn't use it and I won't, but he seemed pretty peeved about it.)Comment
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formerly Craig B
- Nov 2004
- 8295
I'm not sure how much more blunt you can be than saying, "Using a trademarked phrase when we don't have permission is illegal. If you can acquire that permission in writing, I would be more than happy to use it. If you can't get it in writing, I'm unable to use it."Comment
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sup? wanna make out?
- Feb 2006
- 330
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Back in mask mode
- Oct 2005
- 5063
I say you've done your job. You refused and told him why. Let him stew. He's only peeved because he has to go back to the customer and tell them why March Madness won't work - which will make him look like he doesn't know everything about everything - so he's peeved. He'll get over it.Originally posted by Pica
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designerd
- Jul 2005
- 125
I guess the thing that annoys me most and is making it hard to explain to the salesguy is that there are too many folks out there using trademarked phrases left and right, so when I tell him that March Madness is a no-no, he can pick up some other paper and show me a handful of ads screaming March Madness. So when he asks, "they used it, why can't you?", is my only possible answer "because I'm smarter than them"?Comment
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You want it when!?
- Sep 2004
- 831
A good response would be "can't use it because if the owner of the trademarked phrase finds out, they will sue the your company, your boss and YOU personally, and will lose your job." If he still insists on using the phrase, go to your boss about it and let him or her make that decision.Comment
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Senior Member
- Jun 2004
- 8866
Why do people find that clever anyway? "I copy other people's sh!t!!! Look how creative I am!!!"
Kinda like the "got milk?" thing, where EVERYBODY uses that from food to tampons. It's not witty or clever, but instead annoying.Comment
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Member 2.0
- May 2005
- 9978
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Somniferous Eye Mod
- Mar 2004
- 4312
Heres a little legal secret...
when someones trademark is overly used by other people for an continually/extended period of time, it practically gets put into a catagory called "saturated usage"... this means that the original owner of the trademark pretty much loses their rights to it in a court of law unless it makes a direct conflict with the owners sales or brand image (i.e. being in the same exact market).
with the saying "March madness" you don't really have anything to worry about as long as your not in the same industry as the original owner.
this is the same thing with the whole "Got Milk?" thing
or even "As Seen on TV"
its good to have a Trademark Lawer in the office next to you...
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Graphic Designer et al
- Feb 2006
- 819
^I remember hearing something like this. But I think the trademark holder would have to ignor the infringement for a very long time (many years?) before it kicked in.
I believe Kleenex began to have a problem with this, because everyone started using the word Kleenex when referring to facial tissue. Kleenex came in ad defended their trade mark, and still do. Xerox had a similar issue, but I don't know if they've defended the word, or just let it go into the public lexicon.Comment
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Junior Member
- Feb 2006
- 11
Why are you so worried? If that person wants to use the trademark, let him do. It is on his own. You should only have a print version signed by him.
Does designers carry responsibility for (probable) trademarks they use doing mock-ups? It is a "pretty nice" job to check every word on the layout :-)Comment
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designerd
- Jul 2005
- 125
It's a matter of ethics as well as a matter of covering one's own ass. Since our paper was designing the ad, we'd be responsible if NCAA got ticked off at the trademark usage. Yes, the client had it in the info they wanted included in the ad, but we're the professionals who are supposed to know better. By designing the ad, we're providing a service to our customer and accepting the responsibility to make sure it comes out right. You can't just slap a Coca-Cola logo or "Endorsed by Chuck Norris" on an ad an run it just because the customer signs off on it. That's illegal.Comment
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Today, 10:10 PMCommented to Coding help needed: newbie.Further up in the thread Darkwolf29a and I questioned your use of the <base> tag. The base tag isn't typically used, but it serves as an instruction to regard the URL within the tag as the root...
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Today, 09:47 PMCommented to Critique of business cardThanks.
I took a look at luxe -- looks good. Looks like it's digitally printed -- would that be as good as litho or letterpress?
Engraving sounds interesting. I'll look into... -
Today, 09:24 PMCommented to Critique of business cardSimilar, but more expensive and classy, is engraving. Combining an ultra-minimalist, bare-bones design with something as elegant, tactile and expensive as engraving can really have a nice, exclusive,...
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Today, 09:21 PMHi all,
I am venturing out into looking for my next FT gig - and would like some feedback on my website - appearance and content as well as my portfolio.
thanks. -
Today, 09:14 PMCommented to Copy/Paste-in-place isn't quite rightYeh - copped that later on but hard to compare side by side lol.
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Today, 08:54 PMCommented to Typographic ArtNope nothing attached .... I see you tried to post an image from here but, that didn't work either I'm afraid
The new update is not all that user friendly. You could post a link to the... -
Today, 08:48 PMCommented to Typographic ArtI don't see anything attached.
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Today, 08:17 PMCommented to Hi PeopleThanks, everybody.
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