So in the box below you will see an article from the Buffalo News about the "Ice Bowl". I"ll give my thoughts about it under the box as not to cause anyone who reads it to take my thoughts into account untill after they read it.


[box]

Poster Art USA threatened over trademark infringement
NHL benches 'Ice Bowl' line
By Sharon Linstedt NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 12/23/07 6:47 AM


SAVE EMAIL PRINT POPULAR Digg it del.icio.us + Larger Font Google Yahoo - Smaller Font
The Ice Bowl poster featured a generic hockey player.
The National Hockey League has melted a locally created line of "Ice Bowl" products linked to the New Year's Day Winter Classic outdoor game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Facing NHL threats of prosecution for trademark infringement, Mark Corsi, owner of Poster Art USA on Elmwood Avenue, has agreed to halt sale and production of his "Ice Bowl" merchandise.

A source familiar with the situation said the NHL started with a "cease and desist" notice, and escalated actions when Corsi continued to sell the homegrown line of posters, T-shirts, hats, gloves and mugs.

NHL representatives did not respond to inquiries about the situation on Friday. Corsi is barred from discussing the situation under terms of the agreement.

In an October interview with The Buffalo News, Corsi explained he came up with the idea for the locally produced items in July on the heels of rumors the Sabres would play an outdoor game in January at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

"It was 90 degrees and everybody was talking about the Ice Bowl," Corsi said. "And nobody was calling it the NHL Winter Classic, it was Ice Bowl, Ice Bowl, Ice Bowl."

After consulting his attorney, the seller of new and vintage posters found "Ice Bowl" was not a registered trademark and quickly filed a federal trademark application. The centerpieces of Corsi's product line were a poster and T-shirt featuring a generic hockey player, dressed in a dark blue jersey, with gold trim, emblazoned with a gold "B."

Corsi said he took care to make sure none of his items bore direct references to the Winter Classic, or trademarked images of the NHL, Buffalo Sabres, or Pittsburgh Penguins.

When the items were unveiled, Sabres Chief Operating Officer Daniel DiPofipredicted Corsi was on thin ice, saying "any reasonable person will recognize he's referring to an NHL event." The Sabres front office declined to comment on icing of the "Ice Bowl" line Friday, calling it a league matter.

Corsi, who saw brisk sales of the "Ice Bowl" line out of his Elmwood Avenue shop and its Web site, opened a kiosk in Amherst's Boulevard Mall in November to keep pace with demand. Brian Calvert, the mall's specialty leasing manager, said the Poster Art kiosk remains open and has switched over to Buffalo-themed posters and other merchandise.

"I know [Corsi] was disappointed about what happened. It's too bad because the Ice Bowl products were really nice, but his regular products are also quite nice and he's doing what he has to do," Calvert said.

While Corsi, an Elmwood Avenue veteran, can't talk about the "Ice Bowl" meltdown, he has found an outlet for "silent protest." An officially licensed poster depicting the Stanley Cup is now hanging upside down in the window of his store at 1055 Elmwood Ave.

As the banned "Ice Bowl" line has evaporated, NHL-sanctioned Winter Classic products are arriving at local stores and the Sabres Shop at HSBC Arena. Jim Laux, of Laux Sporting Goods, said although the official products are expected to sell well, the timing is off a bit.

"It would have been nice to have them in sooner. We won't get the jerseys with the players names sewn on them on the floor until after Christmas," Laux said.

Sabres spokesman Michael Gilbert also said Winter Classic items have been on shelves only a few days but have been hot sellers since their arrival. In addition to the special white Sabres jerseys, the official product lineup includes thermal underwear shirts, hooded sweat shirts, caps and the fuzzy "Fargo Flap Cap."

slinstedt@buffnews.com





[/box]

My take is this. First of all the guy who runs Poster art came out with Ice Bowl Stickers, Hats, Shirts and posters before the NHL could. You have to give the guy credit for that. I still have not seen a single poster, from the NHL. "The Ice Bowl" was never officaly called that. He didn't use any terms that where trade marked like NHL, Sabres, Penguins or even any player names. He even invernted his own uniform. When I hear "Ice Bowl" I think of NFL football games from before my time. What the NHL is trying to say is that "ice bowl" = "Winter Classic". It doesn't and I think they are being greddy. It comes down to the fact that they are a huge comodity and this guy isn't. This has Big Business and the power they have to run over and try to put small ones out of business all over it. I'm not saying if I was in the NHL's position that I would be happy but that doesn't mean you go after the little guy. What things like this do is hurt small business. It also hurts the person who wants to do some thing creative next time cause what if he gets sued. I think that often big business forgets that everyone was a small business at some time. In terms of the name it should be clairifeid that the Winter Classic has two names not one. All the shirts say "Winter Classic" but it is sponsered by AMP energy drink and is also called "The Amp Winter Classic". If you follow the same logic can AMP Tell the NHL that they have to pull all the winter classic stuff and and the AMP Logo to it. Wait that sounds crazzy right well is that really any worse then worse then attacking a guy who breaks no copy right laws. Hey AMP paid good money to have their name on it. I'm still going to watch it cause I like both hockey teams. I just think that it is sad to see that the NHL doesn't have good Business ethics.