Tonight's weird but true legal case involves this special time of year - March Madness. Although little known, the term did not always connote the NCAA Tournament. In fact, it was originally connected to an Illinois High School basketball tournament. When the NCAA decided to market the term in relation to their tournament, litigation ensued.
In the 1996 case of Illinois High School Association v. GTE Vantage, the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit considered an appeal by the IHSA of a decision denying it an injunction barring GTE Vantage (a licensee of the NCAA) from using the term in connection with a CD-ROM game. IHSA argued that the term had been used since the 1940's in relation to its tournament and that the IHSA had licensed the term for use in connection with the high school game. IHSA argued that without an injunction, the public would confuse the GTE game with its tournament and be mislead.
In connection with its argument, IHSA asserted that it was not its fault that March Madness had become associated with the NCAA Tournament since the term was first used by Brent Musberger of CBS in 1983 and IHSA (correctly) could not seek to prevent the media from using the term to describe the NCAA tourney. The 7th Circuit agreed, but also pointed out that if the IHSA was vigilant, it could have sued to prevent CBS from marketing its coverage of the NCAA Tournament under the term "March Madness."
In a bit of creative judicial gymnastics, the 7th Circuit did not take the logical step of stating that the IHSA's use of the mark had been superseded by the NCAA's use or even that the term had become generic. Instead, the Court created the theory of "dual use term" and effectively allowed both the IHSA and the NCAA to use the term in connection with their tournaments.
The story has a happy ending. In 2000, the NCAA and IHSA banded together to form the MMAA - the March Madness Athletic Association. Three years later they worked together to prevent a website from using the name in connection with their own marketing of the NCAA Tournament in March Madness Athletic Association v. Netfire Inc.
You can find a copy of the 7th Circuit decision in Illinois High School Association v. GTE Vantage by clicking here:http://laws.findlaw.com/7th/961981.html .[Non-Findlaw users will need to register to see the case, but there is no cost].
You can also find a copy of the 5th Circuit decision in March Madness Athletic Association v. Netfire Inc. by clicking here:http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/03/03-11069.0.wpd.pdf . [No registration required].
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