Quarterbacks Face Off in Trademark Dispute

Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson has reportedly filed appeals with the US Patent and Trademark Office regarding Dallas Cowboys’ retired quarterback Troy Aikman's attempts to register the trademark "EIGHT" for use with a light beer. 

Jackson's filing claims that Aikman’s company's attempt to trademark “EIGHT” for his light beer brand is “likely to cause confusion” among the public regarding which quarterback is behind the products.

Jackson owns and has applied for several trademarks using the number 8 in various forms. According to his appeals, Jackson “has expended considerable time, effort, and expense in promoting, advertising, and popularizing the number 8 in connection with his personality and fame" and "is well-known by this number due to his notoriety and fame, along with his promotion of this number in his trademarks and in media coverage”.

According to Christine Farley, a law professor at American University, while the first reaction might be “how can you own a number?”, “the truth is you can own almost anything you think of as a trademark.” Since there are other famous number 8s in sports, such as Alexander Ovechkin, it remains to be seen if more disputes will arise.