LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A battle over trademarks licensed by the National Football League and the Las Vegas Raiders is being played out in the legal system right now. The Dimopoulos Law Firm has sued both the NFL and the Raiders.
Dimopoulos Law Firm said that on Feb. 22, 2023, it received a cease and desist
letter from the NFL and the Raiders. “The letter accused Dimopoulos of ‘engaging in the unauthorized use of’ the Raiders’ marks, even though no mark owned by the Raiders was shown during the Advertisement,” Dimopoulos said. “The cease and desist letter also accused Dimopoulos of using hashtags including the Raiders’ marks.”
Dimopoulos said the letter from the NFL and Raiders demanded it stops airing a commercial starring defensive end Max Crosby. The reasoning behind the cease-and-desist letter, according to Dimopoulos, is the NFL claims it is using the same color scheme as the Raiders in its ads without permission and using a #Raiders hashtag.
In response, the law firm said, “Since the firm’s inception in 2012, Dimopoulos has used a silver and black color scheme.” It went on to cite examples of other teams that use the same color scheme and detail the contract with Crosby which stated no logo for the Raiders will be used in the commercial, but his name and number would be used.
There is a logo on a jersey in the ad, but Dimpoulor writes the logo “is the Dimopoulos firm’s logo, which is displayed on the uniforms worn in the advertisement.”
According to the lawsuit, there is also a YouTube page featuring the commercial and it is written “that the firm ‘is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with the NFL.’”
Dimopoulos also said it “did not use the hashtags in a manner that suggests a connection with
the trademark or the trademark owner.” Dimopoulos then said that it “did not use the hashtags in a manner that is likely to confuse or cause mistake among consumers.”
8 News Now has reached out to the Raiders and NFL for comment on the lawsuit and initial cease and desist letter but has yet to hear from either organization.