Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
B

Boston Red Sox Baseball Club LP v. Sherman

88 U.S.P.Q.2d 1581 (2008)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Boston Red Sox Baseball Club LP v. Sherman

United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
88 U.S.P.Q.2d 1581 (2008)

Facts

Brad Sherman (defendant) filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) an application to register the mark “Sex Rod” for various articles of clothing. The mark appeared in stylized letters mimicking the letter style of the mark “Red Sox” used by the Boston Red Sox Baseball Club LP (Boston Red Sox) (plaintiff). The Boston Red Sox filed a notice of opposition to Sherman’s application with the PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the board). One of the stated grounds for opposition was that the mark that Sherman sought to register consisted of immoral and scandalous matter under 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a). The Boston Red Sox submitted a dictionary definition of “rod” that recognized it as a vulgar term for a penis, and Sherman admitted that he intended for his mark “Sex Rod” to carry a sexual connotation.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Holtzman, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Intellectual Property

Key Terms