Wanna Be Like Mike? Better Have His Permission, Appeals Court Rules

A grocery chain that ran an ad honoring Michael Jordan as he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame did not have permission to effectively align their brand with him, the Seventh  Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, awarding Jordan $5 million in damages. Jewel-Osco argued it had a First Amendment right to run the 2009 ad, which appeared in a commemorative issue of Sports Illustrated magazine and featured red and white sneakers with the number 23 on them, congratulating Jordan on being honored. But Jordan sued the grocery chain for violating the federal Lanham Act by misappropriating his identityand state laws pertaining to publicity rights and deceptive trade practices. Although there was no explicit pitch to shop at the stores, the court said  the ad counted as commercial speech, “aimed at promoting goodwill for the Jewel-Osco brand by exploiting public affection for Jordan at an auspicious moment in his career.”