By Jaquetta White, The Times-Picayune
January 29, 2010, 6:38PM
The National Football League appeared to back off Friday on its trademark ownership claims to the phrase “Who Dat” and the fleur-de-lis logo, saying it is challenging the sale of items only “when those products contained or are advertised using other trademarks or identifiers of the Saints.”
” ‘Who Dat’ we do not claim to own by itself,” said Brian McCarthy, a spokesman for the NFL. “It’s when ‘Who Dat’ is used in conjunction with Saints marks that it’s a problem.”
McCarthy said T-shirts and items with ‘Who Dat’ and a fleur-de-lis logo unlike the one owned by the Saints are allowed as long as they are not advertised as being Saints or NFL paraphernalia.
‘Who Dat’ shirts being sold at the Fleurty Girl shop on Oak Street would be acceptable, McCarthy said, as long as the shop removes advertising referring to the Saints.
In a letter to Sen. David Vitter, R-La., the league described the trademark tussle, which has enraged New Orleans Saints fans across the country since it erupted this week, as “a significant misunderstanding.”
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Did the NFL try to copyright brown paper bags with “Ain’tS” on them when the Saints were stinking up the league? Moreover, I think the fleur-de-lis was probably in the public domain since it’s initial use in France. What about when the coach for Maimi, in their early days, said “Let’s go out and win one for the Flipper?” Did the NFL go after the TV show and the network over this? Why go after “Who Dat” now that the Saints are winning? I’ll bet they’re hoping to find a NFL copyright on St. Peter’s gravesite under the Vatican. These guys need to get a life and remember that, without the fans, there would be no need for a NFL.