As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. This is a lesson Warner Bros had to learn most recently after criticizing the Australian Football League over recent additions to the league from the island of Tasmania. You've probably already guessed where this is going.
The AFL recently announced that the newest team to enter the league will be the Tasmanian Devils. The reaction to this announcement was immediate and positive, and within hours of the announcement he had amassed 40,000 members. In fact, there used to be a basketball club called the Devils, and after that team folded, Warner Bros. joined the team.
The National Basketball League (NBL) featured the Hobart Devils from 1983 to 1986, the Hobart Tassie Devils from 1987 to 1995, and the Hobart Devils name returned for the franchise's final season in 1996.
After the club disbanded, Warner Brothers quickly trademarked the character and registered the name Tasmanian Devil in 1997. When the NBL announced that Tasmania would return to the league for the 2021/22 season, the name was not available due to a request for a name. A trademark application for the Tassie Devils had been filed with the federal government by the AFL.
The application has been in limbo since 2019 and a final decision is expected to be made by July 17 this year.
Hobart eventually gave up and decided to become a “Jack Jumper.” And with WB scooping up trademarks for all sorts of market segments, including apparel and more, the company began attacking his AFL over the name. The brand bears no resemblance to the famous Warner Bros. character. The color scheme is also not reminiscent of its character. This all comes down to the club's name and the trademark Warner holds for the character.
And a lot of this fight seems to have focused on the fact that Warner's side didn't realize that the Tasmanian devil was an animal that actually existed on the island.
Devils chairman Grant O'Brien said it became clear during negotiations that company executives were unaware that the character was based on Apple Isle's famous carnivorous marsupial. .
“I think at one time it wasn't understood that there was actually an animal called the Tasmanian devil. Once that was understood, things got a little bit easier,” O'Brien said. “But having anything to do with copyright, trademarks, things like that, it's difficult. But we were able to get great cooperation from Warner Bros., and this name was something we wanted to fight for.” Because it's a name, it's ours and it's the kind of animal character we want our club to represent.”
So…yeah. It's not entirely clear if this is completely settled, but it seems likely that the team will keep its name after it was explained to WB that the team's characters were based on an important piece of the island's cultural and natural history. It seems like everyone thinks so.This is had But explaining it can be both fun and a source of discomfort.
Because, after all, the calories spent as a result of an American company, with zero chance of confusion regarding source or affiliation, unknowingly appropriating a piece of someone else's culture and trying to control it is clearly annoying. .
Warner Bros. had to get the Tasmanian football team to explain the origin of the Taz character
More legal articles from Techdirt:
US courts are finally cracking down on judicial shopping
Thousands of young people tell us why the Kids Online Safety Act is harmful to minors
How to Falsely Report a Supreme Court Hearing: National Review Edition
