The Oakland Raiders have asked a judge to prevent the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers from wearing their uniforms for games in California because they violate the Raiders' trademark rights. In other news, Al Davis is a total moron. I think if the Bucs really wanted to "cause irreparable harm" to the Raiders, they'd just do something like beat their asses in a Super Bowl in their home state.
This has been getting a lot of run out here the past couple days, and, yep, Al's a moron (although that's certainly not news). Raider players must be cringing in embarassment. About this lawsuit, too.
Three words: Statute. Of. Limitations. How long have the Bucs had a pirate logo? How long have the Panthers worn silver and black? Actually, the Bucs case seems non-frivolous -- I'd always wondered why the Raiders didn't do something sooner about that.
Actually, they did. This is one of the last vestiges of a multiple point suit filed by Davis in 1996. The Bucs started wearing their new logo in 1997, if memory serves, and the Panthers came into the league in 1995. And not everything has a statute of limitations, and those things that do have varying statutes of limitations. It's not a catch-all. And even if it was, as mentioned, this dates from 1996. Sometimes it takes that long to get through the courts.
the bucs weren't worth suing until they won the super bowl. now, there is all that extra cash al can get his hands on.
Again, the suits were filed in 1996. And winning the Super Bowl didn't exactly generate a huge amount of money for the Bucs (their sweet stadium lease does that), not that Davis is asking for money out of them anyway.