Before the Baltimore Ravens' win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Terrell Suggs announced his alma mater as, "Ball So Hard University." Soon after, merchandise from this make-believe school cropped up, and now a legal battle has broken out over who owns "Ball So Hard University."
According to the Baltimore Sun, Brian Bussells, a man from Maryland, applied for a trademark three days after the game for the school name and started printing shirts. Suggs even appeared at a press conference in one of those shirts. A week and a half later, Suggs applied for the trademark and started to sell merchandise through his website.
Bussells was surprised to see Suggs selling the gear.
"I think Suggs started to try to sell shirts a few weeks after he knew I was selling them ? so I was a little surprised," Bussells said.
Other entrepreneurs also started to sell BSHU clothing, and they've received cease-and-desist letters from Suggs' camp.
Now, Bussells and Suggs have to wait for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to rule on who is the rightful owner of "Ball So Hard." The case will hinge on both the filing date and if "Ball So Hard" is a key part of Suggs' public persona. Since he said it on national television in November, Suggs has signed Facebook posts with "BALL SO HARD UNIVERSITY."
Apparently, the first class given at BHSU will be on trademark and patent law.
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