Yeah, I'm later than Michael Jackson on this. Bear with me.
An interesting battle has heated up between the New Orleans Saints and some guys over printing and selling t shirts that have the Saints' infamous "Who Dat" slogan on them.
[The Four Letter Network]
Here's my question: how is this any different from "Let's Go X" cheers that nearly every other team uses? Can either party really copyright a phrase that's in the public domain for a certain amount of time? Nope.
The ability to patent something depends on multiple factors, and can be stopped if the item/slogan/etc in question is deemed to be in the "public domain", ie, common knowledge. You couldn't patent, say, the wheel. You could patent a specific TYPE of wheel, as long as whatever you're patenting hadn't already been around or conventional. I think there's a one year period to determine such things.
Point is, neither party can claim exclusive rights on "Who Dat" if the slogan has been proven to be around one year before it was first patented. Which I believe is the case. Will this keep the NFL from throwing money to prevent a small business from making even a cent at their expense? Absolutely not.
Bottom line, if you REALLY want a Who Dat shirt, make your own.
- Matt
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