QUESTION
Am I able to use the term Zombie Sonics with a distorted logo on t-shirts and sell them?
Asked on Jun 06th, 2012 on Intellectual Property - Washington
More details to this question:
I''m considering making t-shirts with the name: "Seattle Zombie Sonics" (The term Zombie Sonics is a popularized term amongst sports fans that refers to how Oklahoma City essentially stole the Sonics away from us back in 2008. Some fans colloquially refer to the Oklahoma City Thunder as the Zombie Sonics.)
I would also be using the old logo with a half basketball with the Seattle skyline inside and altering the color scheme to gray, black, and red (zombie colors) along with some alterations to the actual design, so it''s different from the original.
I might also consider putting on "2011-2012 Champions" assuming the Thunder win the NBA Championship this year. The Finals will be over in about three weeks.
From my understanding, OKC still owns the trademarks to "Sonics" and "Super Sonics" as well as the old logo, but I don''t know if that would matter given what I''ve described I would be making. Also, are there issues with using the space needle''s likeness?
1 ANSWER
Reviews not shown
1 Award
Since your proposed goods would display a mark that included the senior user's registered mark SONICS in its entirety, a presumption of infringement would arise. The addition of the term ZOMBIE before the registered mark does not negate this presumption, particularly since the team referred to is the same team.
Answered on Jun 06th, 2012 at 9:12 PM