Expert: Shasta McLaughlin - 8/7/2008

Question
My friend and I have been making "football shaped" cribbage boards and selling them locally. We put the customers favorite team logo and colors on them. As long as we don't affiliate ourselves with any football company, can we safely sell in a larger market? I'm from Ontario, Canada. I don't know if that makes a difference in your answer.

Answer
This is a very hard question, because it's a legal one which usually means you should consult a lawyer.

I know that pro teams have rights to all merchandise sold with their logo and they also have the budget to sue small companies like yours.  The decent thing for them to do would be to ask you to cease and desist (which just means stop doing what you're doing), but that isn't always what they will want. You will probably also end up incurring legal fees which would eat any profits your business had made anyway.

College teams may or may not be as protective of their logo, but I know that some are.  High schools and Junior Highs around the area probably won't be as protective of their colors and logos.

What I would recommend is that you call or write to EVERY school in question and ask for their PERMISSION IN WRITING to use their logo.  I would keep these letters with me whenever I was selling these items.

I would absolutely not mess with anyone's copyright the risk is enormous that they will sue you and not just make you stop, but that you will be paying heavy penalties for a long time.

I don't think they can stop you from using their colors so long as it doesn't closely resemble their flag or something.

You might make more sales at a higher price, by making one for each school and presenting it to the person in charge of merchandise, who might even be the same person who can give you permission to use their logo.  Then sell them in bulk to the schools themselves to sell at games etc.  This would both increase and protect your profits which would seem like the best way to go to me.

Mention to High Schools and Junior Highs that groups and clubs could buy your cribbage boards and resell them as a fundraiser.

Have a good day,

Shasta McLaughlin