Party promoters need to know the law
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| The law touches everything. Even partying. Even my use of this picture. Free pic from MorgueFile.com |
If you've read my blog before, you know I'm an attorney. Practicing law encompasses a number of areas. I try to educate people on how the law can impact them in their various ventures. Not too long ago I appeared on a local radio show at least three times discussing intellectual property.
These issues touch a number of areas including social media, entertainment, and entrepreneurship. But alas, people tend not to listen, or call for help until it is too late. This became readily apparent when I read an article in a local paper a couple of days ago.
CIAA is less
than two weeks away. The city of Charlotte is gearing up to host the tournament
this year from February 28th through March 2nd. The event
drew huge numbers in 2011, “the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority estimates attendance for official CIAA functions topped
190,000 and provided an economic impact of $44.3 million,”-Washington Times.
And it increased fourteen percent in 2012.
The economic boom also impacts local businesses, especially hotels,
restaurants, entertainment venues and entertainment companies who use the name “CIAA”
to draw crowds beginning the week before the tournament starts. Party promoters
can profit over six figures in one night hosting unofficial events using the
official name. Often, none of that money goes to the official CIAA. This year, CIAA® officials have filed suit to
bring use of its name at unofficial parties to an end.
From the
Charlotte Observer:
The CIAA has filed a
copyright infringement lawsuit in federal court against party promoters,
concert promoters, nightclubs and merchandisers, claiming they are using the
conference’s name without permission.
The suit, filed
Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, demands that promoters stop
using the conference’s trademarked name. In addition, CIAA is demanding
ownership of several websites it believes to be in violation, along with triple
the value of any profits derived from unauthorized use of its name.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/15/3857701/ciaa-sues-several-promoters-over.html#storylink=cpy
“The CIAA, founded on the campus of Hampton Institute (now Hampton
University) in 1912, is the
oldest African-American athletic conference in the United States. It was
originally known as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association and
adopted its current name in December 1950.” –Wikipedia
CIAA® is the registered
trademark of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Everyone
associates CIAA with the tournament that occurs in Charlotte at the end of
February each year. The college sports conference has a storied history and its
members are a number of historically Black colleges and universities. Johnson
C. Smith University in Charlotte is a long time member of the conference.
Having a registered trademark protects an entity’s
intellectual property against unauthorized use. “Intellectual property” is
anything that a person has created from artwork to logos to names. Typically
when someone violates a registered trademark, the owner sends out a letter
asking that they stop the infringing use.
Once the letter is sent, and violation continues,
trademark owners have a right to sues and can win awards of up to $30,000.00
per infringement plus profits gained from the infringement. That means each
time a flyer is printed, commercial made, t-shirt designed, etc., using the
trademark, it is an individual infringement.
The CIAA®
has legitimate claims for infringement against all who have violated their
trademark. What do you think of the lawsuit? Should promoters and venues face
penalties for using the CIAA® name without permission?
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