![Like it or not "The Harbowl" term is out there, and Indiana native Roy Fox must be shaking his head.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/87/63/8763ef9ae92becf30436516c171e16a6.jpg?itok=u8GrKUWX "Like it or not "The Harbowl" term is out there, and Indiana native Roy Fox must be shaking his head.")
This story is starting to sound like an episode of "The Sopranos." In life, if we want to trademark something, there is a legal way to do so. However an Indiana man is finding out that really isn't how things work, that is if the NFL doesn't like it.
According to ESPN, "The NFL pressured an Indiana man to give up his quest to trademark "Harbowl," even though the man might have had a legal right to do so."
Roy Fox said he spent more than $1,000 to file for the trademark terms "Harbowl" and "Harbaugh Bowl," in anticipation of the possibility that the Harbaugh brothers may meet up in the Super Bowl.
Fox did this in February of 2012, so why is the NFL so mad? Well most likely because Fox beat them to the punch, and the term "Harbowl" could be a big seller.
"Right before the conference championship games last year, I thought to myself, 'Can you imagine if these guys played each other?'" Fox said. "If Pat Riley would go through the trouble of trademarking three-peat, why shouldn't I try this?"
Fox was right on the money with his thoughts of this match-up, but that's when the NFL stepped in. Right before this season started, the league sent a letter to Fox saying that it was concerned that his recent trademarks could be confused with the NFL's trademark of Super Bowl.
"There were two questions asked of him," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "Was he affiliated with any NFL teams? The answer was no. And was he in any way affiliated with the Harbaugh brothers? And that answer was no."
All Fox wanted to do is keep his trademark - just like Pat Riley.
In follow-up correspondence provided to ESPN.com by Fox, the NFL encouraged Fox to abandon the marks, citing conflict with its mark.
So what does Fox do? Well what any red-blooded American may do.
He asked the league to reimburse him for his costs to file for the trademarks. That doesn't sound unreasonable. He also asked for Colts season tickets and an autographed photo of league commissioner Roger Goodell.
Still, not that unreasonable when you think about it. The NFL is a billion dollar business and they must have thought Fox had a great slogan, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered with him in the first place.
The NFL turned down all of Fox's requests and according to reports, the NFL threatened to have him pay the legal bills racked up when the league took action to oppose his filing.
Fox dropped his trademarks last October.
Do you think Fox had the right to make the trade marks, or was the NFL right to shut it down?
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