.jpg)
WHO DAT! (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Related Articles
Who Dat say dey gonn' take away our chant and pride?
No-one now...but with restrictions.
As the New Orleans Saints prepare for their first ever trip to the Super Bowl, the NFL slapped down some cease and desist orders on local businesses. A lawsuit was filed to try those business to stop selling merchandise, including t-shirts, that have the colors and trademarks of the Saints along with the words "Who Dat" on it.
NFL spokespeople advised that the "Who Dat" phrase belonged to the NFL and those selling the merchandise were infringing on their trademarks.
Well, a small bit of a settlement has come about and it is a point for local retailers. Ok, so maybe half a point.
The NFL backed off a bit on Friday and now advises that they don't own the fleur-de-lis or famous chant of the Saints, but will only challenge sales "when those products contained or are advertised using other trademarks or identifiers of the Saints."
As long as stores remove any reference to the Saints then they are allowed to sell shirts and other merchandise. Stores like Fleurty Girl and Storyville can now go back to having those shirts on the shelves in conjunction with making the proper adjustments.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, "'Who Dat' we do not claim to own by itself. It's when 'Who Dat' is used in conjunction with Saints marks that it's a problem."
Letters were written. Phone calls were made. E-mails were sent. Chances are there were even some live appearances by those opposing the NFL's ruling with the hope that Louisiana Senator David Vitter would somehow get this whole fiasco figured out and allow local commerce to continue. Vitter did end up sending a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and it helped clear up what is now being considered as a "big misunderstanding."
Fans were taking the NFL's words as saying the league owned the fleur-de-lis and "Who Dat" phrase, but it wasn't exactly meant that way. The league was simply stating that those things, or any, combined with references to the Saints would be considered copyright infringement. Matters aren't helped when the colors of said items are always sold in black and gold.
It appears that small business got a step up here and really got lucky because that is a lot of business that could have been taken from them. I'd like to call this one small victory before the other big victory (hopefully) on February 7 in Miami.
Say it loud...say it proud...WHO DAT!
Credit: NOLA.com
For e-mail updates whenever a new article is posted, please subscribe at the top of the page and follow me on Twitter.
Please be sure to check out BlackandGold.com, SaintsReport.com, and WhoDatZone.com for more.
Comments