Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Pennsylvania
infringement
hello, I am in the process of making a t-shirt, and it is black and gold and has the ''look'' of a pittsburgh steeler shirt. however, Iwas careful to use names/logos that were not infringing. however, the steelers found out about it, and sent me a letter DEMANDING certain things, among others that I send them an email saying I will not sell any more shirts without their approval. I did just that because I did not want to cause 'waves'. I have three questions, all of a different nature.
1. do they have the right to send an email with demands? could that be construed as causing duress (which indeed I felt intimidated)?
2. how binding is my email to them? i.e., assume they later come after us in a court of law for infringement rights and we lose. I understand that all they can come after are any monies gained from selling the shirts? is that true? further, does my email get me in any more trouble? (i.e. I agreed to such and such so therefore they could be harsher on me)
3. the whole idea of infringement gets to confusingly similar (i.e we cannot sell a shirt that the consumer reasonably believes the steelers have authorized). however, what if we were to put OUR company name on it ? would that make a difference?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: infringement
To answer your questions:
1. Yes, they can send an email with any demands they wish. What your obligations are as a result is a different story. You do not have a cause of action if the letter intimidated you.
2. The email is less important than whether you actually stop selling the shirts without their approval. If you stopped selling them, the existence of the email would be irrelevant.
3. The question of infringement depends upon the specific nature of your shirts and how they relate to the Steelers' trademarks. Without conducting a thorough analysis, there is no way for me to determine whether infringement has likely occurred or not.
Without some form of written release, the Steelers' are not prevented from bringing an action against you for the shirts you've already made and sold. Any communications you may have sent them could potentially be used as an admission of your liability as well.
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