A local restaurant manager is urging other small business and bar owners to avoid using official team logos when promoting events during the World Series after receiving an email notice from a representative of the Blue Jays.
On Tuesday evening, Sneaky Dee’s — a local restaurant, concert venue and dive bar on College St. — took to social media to caution family-owned establishments in the city about potential legal consequences for displaying or using the Toronto Blue Jays logo at their businesses.
“Though showing Jays game and bringing people together during this exciting time in our city is great, we’d like to advise everyone to NOT use the Blue Jays logo to avoid potential legal action. It’s easy to get caught up as small business owners and fans but there are legalities and consequences to consider,” the Instagram post said.
After receiving several inquiries from locals about whether Game 7 of the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners would be shown at the downtown venue, George Diamantouros, manager of Sneaky Dee’s, said staff posted on Facebook and Instagram to promote playoff viewings, daily specials, and encourage locals to visit.
Read More
The posts included the team’s official logo, which was made to look like a poster. After publishing the posts, Diamantouros says he thought nothing of it, noting that Game 7 was “electric.”
And while the home team proved successful, with a win carrying them into the World Series, the restaurant soon had a new challenge to tend to.
“Then we woke up the next [Tuesday] morning to an email from somebody at the Blue Jays asking us to take it [the post] down, thanking us for our support, but, you know, copyright and trademark infringement,” Diamantouros said.
In the email posted to social media, the Blue Jays representative outlined the importance of protecting the intellectual property and partners of the Blue Jays, while highlighting that using the home team “mark” for promotions and sales is a violation of the Rogers Blue Jays baseball partnership common law trademark rights, as well as their common law service mark rights.
“We require an acknowledgement that this promotional activity will be out of market as soon as possible by responding to this note by the end of the business day on Wednesday, October 22nd,” the email reads.
Diamantouros says Sneaky Dee’s complied with the request to remove the logo-laden post by the end of the business day Wednesday, noting that it was taken down immediately, with a response sent to the representative to confirm the process.
JAYS HAVE EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO LOGOS
Toronto-based lawyer and founder of Zannes Law Firm, Madaline Zannes, says teams like the Blue Jays hold registered trademark rights in their names and logos under Canadian law.
“That gives them exclusive rights to use those marks nationwide and to decide who else can use them,” she said in a statement to Now Toronto on Friday
Zannes says when a business uses a team’s name or logo without permission it can result in legal consequences due to trademark infringement because it suggests a connection or endorsement by the team.
This can lead to a cease-and-desist letter or takedown, civil claims for trademark infringement, and even legal costs if businesses ignore warnings.
Although many businesses are eager to celebrate the team and draw in fans, she suggests alternative promotions that avoid potential legal action and infringement.
“Avoid posting or printing the team’s official logo. Decorate with officially licensed merchandise instead of creating your own logo materials. If you really want to feature the logo, contact the team or league’s licensing office to ask about permissions and potential cost,” she said. “Your business can celebrate the game, just don’t copy the team’s branding.”
Diamantouros says he personally contacted other bar owners to warn them about which precautions to take during the World Series.
Despite the misunderstanding, the manager says Sneaky Dee’s has since posted to social media explaining that the establishment will still be showing World Series games with the “birds.”
“We’re going to continue on. You know, we’re a punk rock, Tex-Mex dive bar. Our focus is not sports, but we’re really excited about the Jays. We’ve been waiting over 30 years for this, so like, go Jays go, but in our media, it’s gonna say go ‘birds,’” he said.
