The Trademark Blog: Maybe You Shouldn't Define Yourself By What You Once Were

John Vella played for the 1976 Super Bowl Champion Oakland Raiders. Now he owns sporting good stores and has a website. Here is some imagery from his website at raiderlockerroom.com:

Terri Welles used to be Playmate of the Year. Here is some imagery from her website at terriwelles.com.

The NFL has now sued Vella for unauthorized use of RAIDER trademarks. Here is the decision from Playboy v. Welles, the Ninth Circuit case which sets out the line between truthfully describing your credentials and infringing upon the trademarks owned by those credentials.