FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jim Scully
Tel. 859-219-2113
Fax 859-219-2116
scully@uspaproperties.com
UNITED STATES POLO ASSOCIATION WINS APPEAL AGAINST
POLO RALPH LAUREN IN FEDERAL COURT
Decision Upholds Right for Sport to Use Player Logos
LEXINGTON, KY – March 4, 2008 – The United States Polo Association ("USPA") announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in its favor in the long battle with Polo Ralph Lauren (PRL) over the use of logos depicting polo players. The Court of Appeals upheld a prior ruling by the New York Federal Court, awarding the USPA the right to use three polo player horsemen logos to promote the USPA. PRL had claimed any use of these logos was trademark infringement.
PRL and the USPA have been in conflict since 1986, when the USPA first entered the retail clothing business. In 2000, PRL filed suit against the USPA and related defendants for trademark infringement in the Southern District of New York, and in October 2005, a jury ruled that three of the four logos being used by the USPA did not infringe on PRL’s trademarks. Today’s ruling by the Court of Appeals ends Polo Ralph Lauren’s attempt to overturn the decision of the Federal Court.
David Cummings, President/CEO of USPA Properties, said, "The decision reached by the Court of Appeals is another victory for the USPA and should be the final chapter in a very long book. The double horsemen trademark depicts the true action of the sport of polo. This icon will become synonymous with the USPA – the governing body of the sport of polo in the U.S. – representing the authenticity, tradition and heritage of the game.”
George Stamboulidis of Baker & Hostetler, lead trial counsel for the USPA, concluded, "We are extremely pleased that the Second Circuit affirmed the jury's decision and the trial court's handling of the case in all respects."
About the United States Polo Association
Polo is a sport that has been played for more than 2,000 years, and the USPA has been the sport's governing body of polo since 1890. The USPA represents the interests of the sport of polo and the people who participate as players or spectators.
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