We are seeing more and more copyright infringement cases and many of them can be considered questionable as to whether they are actually are considered copyright infringement or not. Copyright infringement happens when copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed or publicly displayed without the permission from the copyright owner.
They say that Chicago has been trying to find a way to ruin the New Orleans Saints' from their Super Bowl victory by handing them this case on copyright infringement. Reebok manufactured a t-shirt at the end of the Super Bowl that used the "Finish Strong" saying, but the Saints quarterback Drew Brees had adopted that saying in 2009 during the season. There is a local firm based in Chicago, Illinois called "Finish Strong", that sells inspirational merchandise and claims that they have the rights for the "Finish Strong" saying. So now, Reebok is being sued for trademark infringement by this local company, saying that they should not be using the saying "Finish Strong" on those Super Bowl t-shirts.
The small Chicago firm claims that they use the sayings on their merchandise, and have had a registered trademark on the saying since 1998. They also claimed a direct link to Brees when filing this suit. Finish Strong wants Reebok to give them all profits from the shirt plus unspecified damages. The Reebok t-shirt said "We Finish Strong! We Are Saints.".
This case is important because it shows how little a slogan or saying can be in order for a company to take action and sue the other company. There are different cases and copyrights, but this one is important because those two words are often said and used, but this one little company decided to try to sue Reebok for it. It is amazing how that can happen and even be heard in the courts. We talked about how copyright becomes the property of the owner as soon as the work is finished, and it can be anything from literary works to motion pictures.
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Local-Firm-Sues-Over-Reebok-Super-Bowl-Slogan-86227882.html
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