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You know what really grinds my gears...?


Hat Boy

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The left chest logo on the Steelers and Jets jerseys. What's the purpose? Is it like wearing a crested blazer? It is especially odd on the Steelers jeresey. It's as if the logo fell off the helmet and landed on the chest.

I think I can answer this one.

Jerseys like the Jets, Steelers, Lions, Browns, etc. etc. etc. have no tradmarked logos / insignias on them. Any ass clown can take a striped jersey, put some good players number on it, and sell it, and depending on how they marketed it, it would be legal. Shady, but legal. So these teams started putting either little wordmarks (Browns, Lions, etc.) under the collars, or logos (Steelers, Jets) on the chest so that now reproducing one of these jerseys means using unauthorized reproductions of trademarked insignias, and now it is illegal and more risky to do. Not that it still doesn't happen, but there's more legal ramifications.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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Jerseys like the Jets, Steelers, Lions, Browns, etc. etc. etc. have no tradmarked logos / insignias on them. Any ass clown can take a striped jersey, put some good players number on it, and sell it, and depending on how they marketed it, it would be legal. Shady, but legal. So these teams started putting either little wordmarks (Browns, Lions, etc.) under the collars, or logos (Steelers, Jets) on the chest so that now reproducing one of these jerseys means using unauthorized reproductions of trademarked insignias, and now it is illegal and more risky to do. Not that it still doesn't happen, but there's more legal ramifications.

Colors and color schemes can be trademarked if you can show that they have developed secondary meaning. Or, if a court would accept that jerseys are "trade dress", then all you have to show is that it's distinctive.

Really, I think this was just Nike being different. I know they are responsible for the Steelers number change and chest logo, did they make Colts/Jets jerseys at the time they started showing up? The NFL was all over the place with who made jerseys until they signed the Reebok deal.

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Jerseys like the Jets, Steelers, Lions, Browns, etc. etc. etc. have no tradmarked logos / insignias on them. Any ass clown can take a striped jersey, put some good players number on it, and sell it, and depending on how they marketed it, it would be legal. Shady, but legal. So these teams started putting either little wordmarks (Browns, Lions, etc.) under the collars, or logos (Steelers, Jets) on the chest so that now reproducing one of these jerseys means using unauthorized reproductions of trademarked insignias, and now it is illegal and more risky to do. Not that it still doesn't happen, but there's more legal ramifications.

Colors and color schemes can be trademarked if you can show that they have developed secondary meaning. Or, if a court would accept that jerseys are "trade dress", then all you have to show is that it's distinctive.

Really, I think this was just Nike being different. I know they are responsible for the Steelers number change and chest logo, did they make Colts/Jets jerseys at the time they started showing up? The NFL was all over the place with who made jerseys until they signed the Reebok deal.

But ultimately, wouldn't the teams / league be responsible for what goes on a jersey? I'm sure the Steelers didn't just open the boxes and say "oh wow, look at that. Thems numbers is different!"

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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