Protecting the Super Bowl trademark remains a battle

February 02, 2007 The Super Bowl might be the talk of the town, but one won't hear the words "Super Bowl" or other references to the NFL's trademarked terms on radio, television, in print or on the Internet beyond what is officially licensed by the league. That's because football's most effective offense isn't a product of Peyton Manning's arm; it's the National Football League's squad of in-house lawyers who are particularly aggressive in enforcing intellectual property rights against so-called "ambush marketers." Led by vp intellectual property Anastasia Danias, the league's eight-person department of trademark and copyright specialists (and a handful of private law firms) sends out thousands of letters to global advertising giants each year, reminding them not to state or imply that their products are associated with sports' biggest event.

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