An In-Depth Examination of Trademark Litigation Strategies and Sport Brands

Abstract

The right for trademark owners to pursue litigation against those who may infringe upon or dilute their trademark is vital, as intellectual property rights provide a major source of revenue for the sport industry. Any unauthorized uses of a brand’s trademark has the potential to confuse consumers as to the source of the goods/service or dilute the brand’s equity, which could result in loss of revenue for the trademark owner. Creating and protecting a brand’s trademarks falls on marketers and trademark lawyers, and multiple studies have highlighted the significance of the relationship between brand management and trademark law. Legal developments impact marketing strategies, which in turn, lead to innovations in marketing research that influence how the courts apply legal protections. To protect a brand from trademark infringement and dilution, litigation is an important strategy. However, litigation is expensive and lawyers typically do not have the requisite statistical training to enable the development of optimal strategies. Therefore, the overall aim of this dissertation is to provide an in-depth examination of the trademark protection strategies by sport brands, to further inform best practices regarding trademark litigation. The purpose of the first study is to provide guidance to sport brands regarding trademark enforcement and protection. The study identifies the different trademark litigation strategies utilized by adidas and Converse, and the subsequent results from each. The second study is quantitative and analyzes adidas’ legal strategy for protecting its brand from potential trademark infringement through the outcomes of its trademark litigation cases. The third study is also quantitative, employing binary logistic regression to examine the use of consumer surveys in trademark litigation. These studies build upon each other, by showing multiple litigation strategies and providing probabilities of favorable outcomes based on certain variables. This research extends previous studies by using predictive quantitative analyses for trademark litigation in sport brands, and further examining the use of consumer survey in trademark infringement and trademark dilution litigation.