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Apparel co. appealing Browns' rights to 'Dawg Pound'
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- A California apparel company will appeal a judge's decision granting the Cleveland Browns the rights to the phrase "Dawg Pound," a lawyer said Friday.
The lawyer, Christine Karol Roberts, said her client, Hawaii-Pacific Apparel Group Inc., will appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.
"We are, of course, disappointed," Roberts said after Chin decided that the football team and its fans had established use of the phrase in the 1980s before the Commerce, Calif., company in the 1990s began selling "dawg pound" clothing.
"We've been battling over the 'dawg pound' mark for over 10 years," Roberts said. "Both sides have had victories. They've won the last one, but this is but one battle in the war."
Chin said in a ruling made public Thursday that the team had first rights to the phrase. Hawaii-Pacific brought the lawsuit in 2004, suing the Browns and the NFL's marketing arm, NFL Properties.
He said the Browns didn't surrender the rights to the phrase even when Cleveland was without a professional football team from 1995-1999.
Cleveland bleacher fans started calling their section of the stands the "dawg pound" in 1984 after players began calling the Browns' defense the "dawg pound."
The apparel company was founded in 1986. The NFL opposed the company's attempts to register "Dawg Pound" as a trademark in 1994 but didn't oppose the registration of "Top Dawg" and "Lil Dawg Pound" after the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1995.
In a statement, Chin's ruling was applauded by the Browns, who refer to "Dawg Pound" on the team's Web site as "one of the most famous trademarks in sports."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2334552
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- A California apparel company will appeal a judge's decision granting the Cleveland Browns the rights to the phrase "Dawg Pound," a lawyer said Friday.
The lawyer, Christine Karol Roberts, said her client, Hawaii-Pacific Apparel Group Inc., will appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.
"We are, of course, disappointed," Roberts said after Chin decided that the football team and its fans had established use of the phrase in the 1980s before the Commerce, Calif., company in the 1990s began selling "dawg pound" clothing.
"We've been battling over the 'dawg pound' mark for over 10 years," Roberts said. "Both sides have had victories. They've won the last one, but this is but one battle in the war."
Chin said in a ruling made public Thursday that the team had first rights to the phrase. Hawaii-Pacific brought the lawsuit in 2004, suing the Browns and the NFL's marketing arm, NFL Properties.
He said the Browns didn't surrender the rights to the phrase even when Cleveland was without a professional football team from 1995-1999.
Cleveland bleacher fans started calling their section of the stands the "dawg pound" in 1984 after players began calling the Browns' defense the "dawg pound."
The apparel company was founded in 1986. The NFL opposed the company's attempts to register "Dawg Pound" as a trademark in 1994 but didn't oppose the registration of "Top Dawg" and "Lil Dawg Pound" after the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1995.
In a statement, Chin's ruling was applauded by the Browns, who refer to "Dawg Pound" on the team's Web site as "one of the most famous trademarks in sports."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2334552