![]() “Likelihood of confusion” is the key element of trademark infringement. The law gives rights-including the right to exclude others from using marks that are likely to cause confusion as to source, origin, connection, or affiliation-to the first person to use the trademark in interstate commerce. NC State’s weapon is trademark law, which is meant to help consumers differentiate among competing products and services in the marketplace. Each of these schools uses (or-spoiler alert-once used) “Wolfpack” or “Wolf Pack” as a nickname for their sports teams. This has proved to be a problem for other schools, particularly the University of Nevada, Loyola University of New Orleans, and most recently Keuka College. NC State claims to have used the nickname in athletics competitions since 1921. The oldest standard-character registration dates back to the early 1980s and comprises several categories, including apparel and college sports events. The school owns two federal trademark registrations on the word WOLFPACK-known as a “typed drawing” or “standard character” mark-as well as other registrations on designs and logos. North Carolina State University, whose teams are known as the Wolfpack, is the rare case. Yet it is rare to see disputes over ownership of a team name. Add in women’s sports, other major sports like hockey and soccer, semi-pro and minor leagues, high-school teams, and even recreational leagues, and the duplication is pronounced, maybe even unavoidable. ![]() Repetition is noticeable when considering just professional and collegiate football, baseball, and basketball, where Lions, Tigers, and Bears (and Eagles, Warriors, and Wildcats) proliferate. There is a lot of overlap in sports team names.
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