The Saints won the Superbowl over a highly supported Colts team. The streets of New Orleans echoed with cheers of "Who Dat" on Sunday night. But now, the NFL is demanding a cease and desist of t-shirts with the saying on it. According to an Associated Press article on ESPN: "In an e-mail, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said the NFL has sent a handful of letters in the past year asking vendors to stop selling 'Who Dat' merchandise. The unlicensed shirts led fans to believe the Saints endorsed the product, he said." The NFL argues that "Who Dat" is a trademark of the Saints, and therefore the NFL's trademark property.
Local Vendors in New Orleans vehemently oppose the trademarking, stating that the phrase is public property and can be marketed without having to pay royalties. There are other people, such as WhoDatInc., that claim the phrase is theirs. Regardless, the NFL continues to purport that a strong affiliation of "Who Dat" with the Saints gives them trademark rights, and petition the marketers to stop.
What is public property and what is the property of the NFL? Can they truly have a monopoly over every thing affiliated with a team? This seems unreasonable to me. What is considered NFL property then? Is the cheese head a property of the NFL?
I will leave this post with a quote from Louisiana Senator David Vitter discussing his response to the NFL's petition: Vitter said he will print and sell T-shirts with "WHO DAT say we can't print Who Dat!" on them. "Please either drop your present ridiculous position or sue me," Vitter wrote. (AP)
Read the story here: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4871697
