You Can Call the Super Bowl the "Super Bowl" | Hacker News Reader

You Can Call the Super Bowl the "Super Bowl"

eff.org

80 pointsnozzlegear17 comments

Maybe the EFF should prepare a standard reply people can use when they receive a threatening letter from the NFL to cease and desist from using the term "Super Bowl"?

So the organisers want hinder anyone from talking about their event? That seems a really bad and counter productive decision.

Indeed, I wonder what is the reason. The only explanation I can think of would be that the event is already widely advertised by "authorized" partnering media - who thus have an interest in preserving the aura of the event - and scaring everyone unauthorized of trying to mention the event might be a disguised way to avoid critics. If you cannot name the super bowl, you cannot write an article about its ecological impact, the commercial revenues, the working conditions, etc.

But I have absolutely no knowledge about the event, so if anyone has a more informed opinion, I would be very interested.

The restriction is on using their trademarked term to advertise another commercial product. Take snacks, for example. Frito-Lay can put an endcap at the grocery store to promote chips for the game and it can have a huge "GAME DAY" banner overhead, or even "THE BIG GAME." But if they were to write Super Bowl to try and associate the NFL's brand with their brand for the purpose of selling stuff, they'd find themselves quickly in court.

The article is dumb because it misses this very important point. Yes, it's ok for you and me to write about the Super Bowl in many contexts, but it's not ok for us to appropriate their branding for our own commercial gain -- and most people who own IP would be probably be ok with that.

Super Bowl is a trademark of NFL, and to keep a trademark you need to "defend" it. Which lawyers presumably interpret as sending cease and desist letters every now and then

But the caveat is that trademark law only applies to usages that are likely to cause confusion within the same product category, or to imply some endorsement/connection with the trademark holder.

People using your brand to refer to your product in normal modes of communication isn't a violation of your trademark in the first place, and does not need to be defended against.

Is this something like velcro? Where they created an ad to tell people to stop using the name velcro because they'll lose the trademark otherwise?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRi8LptvFZY

We just hold the party with repurposed Halloween decorations. Lots of owls around for our "Superb Owl" party. (You'd almost think it was a Harry Potter convention, but I'm more afraid of Warner Brothers legal than the NFL. YMMV)

Can you imagine Apple trying to stop people from using the term “iPhone”? Or “smart phone”?

Side tangent: does Apple itself even use the term "smartphone" anywhere? The term has been dated for like 10 years, and I'm not sure they used it even before then to refer to their phones. Just curious.

But for whatever it's worth, Ericsson was the first to market something called a "smartphone" with the R380 released in November 2000.

> does Apple itself even use the term "smartphone" anywhere?

Yes, they do, but AFAICT only in phrases similar to “eligible trade‑in smartphone”.

I think they never used it to refer to their product. It was “iPhone” from the start. Why would they use a generic term to describe a premium product?

Checking the press releases for the latest batch of iPhones

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/09/apple-debuts-iphone-1...

"For the first time in a smartphone, color is infused throughout the back glass"

"the Ceramic Shield front cover continues to be tougher than any other smartphone glass"

"iPhone lasts and holds its value longer than any other smartphone"

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/09/apple-unveils-iphone-...

"Continuing Apple’s leadership in smartphone silicon"

"console titles never before seen on a smartphone"

"The best quality video in a smartphone"

"The preferred smartphone for creative pros and filmmakers"

"the first Thread-enabled smartphones"

Well I’ll be damned, apparently they do. Thanks!

https://duckduckgo.com/?va=c&t=ha&q=site%3Awww.apple.com+sma...

Lots of results there, especially press releases.

Does the NFL use the term “Big Game” anywhere?

Fun fact, Cisco actually owns the trademarks to iPhone and IOS and licenses them to Apple[1]. IOS is their famous operating system and iPhone was a product offered by Linksys which they acquired when they purchased Linksys.

[1]. https://appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/08/cisco_licenses_io...

Is the EFF offering pro bono legal representation when the NFL sues you?

Otherwise, the NFL can drown you in legal fees.

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