Bygone Sports gets approval for Washington National' trademark
15 Feb '06
3 min read
The approval of a federal trademark registration now clears the way for Bygone Sports to pursue its trademark infringement claims against MLBP to recover damages and an injunction against further infringing use of the "WASHINGTON NATIONALS" name by MLBP and the Baseball Expos, LLP.
In the lawsuit, Bygone claims that neither MLBP nor the Baseball Expos had any rights in the "WASHINGTON NATIONALS" trademark prior to November 22, 2004, when they first announced that, in moving the team from Montreal to DC, the team would change its nickname to "Washington Nationals" -- more than two years after Bygone Sports first applied for the trademark registration in September 2002.
A representative for Bygone Sports stated: "They are gratified that the Patent and Trademark Office has finally granted their trademark registration, and has rejected Major League Baseball's Protest in which Major League Baseball tried to claim superior rights in the mark.
They now look forward to their day in court.
They are confident that the Court will enforce their rights by awarding us damages for past infringement and by enjoining Major League Baseball and any subsequent owners of the Washington Nationals from any further infringing uses."
Founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bygone's principal market strategy is to identify, resurrect and commercialize long-abandoned, historic sports team names, placing them on sportswear, apparel, and other merchandise, and to offer them for license in connection with other applications.
marketing@alchempro.com
