Commercial Pokes Fun at the NFL's Control of its "Super Bowl" Trademark
January 31, 2013
Michael Atkins in Fair Use, Nominative Trademark Use

Screen shot from Samsung’s new commercial. It’s worth watching.

You can’t call it the Super Bowl.

Or that’s what the NFL would have you believe.

Really, that’s a joke. The game’s called the Super Bowl, and if you want to refer to the Super Bowl, you don’t have to call it the “Big Game.” Using a trademark owner’s trademark to refer to the owner’s branded good is perfectly fair use. Not that I expect the NFL to agree with me.

This video — a new Samsung commercial — makes great fun of the NFL’s over-reaching control of its trademark. It’s really worth a look.

Check it out now, before its screens during the Big Game.

Article originally appeared on Michael Atkins (http://seattletrademarklawyer.com/).
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