Poe the Raven
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- Mar 16, 2019
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The digital age has spawned a wild-west mentality when it comes to the creation of T-shirts and other items that blatantly infringe on copyrights, trademarks, and/or names and likenesses of athletes and celebrities. One athlete is fighting back.
Via the Baltimore Sun, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has sued Amazon for allowing third-parties to sell apparel bearing his likeness and catch phrases on the Amazon platform.
The federal action seeks an injunction and compensatory damages for the sale of items that include phrases like “Action Jackson” (apparently not a reference to a 1988 Carl Weathers film) and “not bad for a running back.” Jackson argues that his own company sells similar products, and that the unauthorized items sold through Amazon create confusion.
More athletes need to do the same thing, and it’s amazing that they don’t. Many websites profit from items that they should not be selling without a license or some other arrangement from athletes who are clearly identified by name, likeness, number, or both.