California’s Fair Pay to Play Act has paved the way for college players to earn money for use of their name and likeness. The law also makes it illegal to inhibit the exercise of these rights.
While the ability for college athletes to earn money based on their notoriety is the subject of continuous debate. From a trademark perspective, this law may help battle cybersquatters looking to profit from these athletes.
Having represented professional athletes trying to reclaim their domain names in these circumstances, I witnessed difficulties created by the NCAA restrictions on athletes earning money. Effectively the athlete cannot make commercial use of their name. As a result, they are left with the difficult task of proving common law trademark rights or fame at a time when their careers are in their infancy.
California’s law opens the door to commercial use and ultimately trademark registration of the athlete’s name through licensing, merchandising and other paid promotion. The registration provides evidence of trademark rights needed for domain name disputes and other unauthorized uses of the athlete’s name. It will be interesting to see how the NCAA responds and whether we will see further changes in amateur athletics. #cuecards#sportslaw#trademarks