UPDATED: A lawyer representing Fox Sports and the new United States League responded to a lawsuit filed yesterday by an organization of owners and executives of the original USFL from the 1980s.
David Bernstein of Debevoise & Plimpton, an adviser to Fox Sports and USFL Enterprises, said in a statement:
The lawsuit filed yesterday by a legal entity formed only a week ago is completely unfounded. The new USFL registered its intellectual property rights in 2011 and is excited to release games on schedule on April 16. The eleventh hour to extract value from the exciting new USFL is completely frivolous and we are exploring all possibilities for compensation.
Nicholas Matic, a lawyer representing the organization of former owners and leaders of the USFL, said yesterday that “Fox is trying to reap where it has not sown and profit from the confusion among fans of the real USFL, claiming the legacy of something. which has not built “
BEFORE Monday: An organization of owners and executives of the original United States Football League filed a lawsuit today in Los Angeles to block Fox Sports’ planned launch of a new version of the legacy league.
Fox Sports’ USFL is set to begin on April 16, with all eight teams using the same franchise names, logos and other materials related to the original USFL, according to the lawsuit.
The USFL ran from 1983 to 1985 and included players such as future members of the Professional Football Hall of Fame Steve Young and Jim Kelly. The USFL started in 1983 as a spring league, then tried to make the leap to fall in 1986 to compete with the NFL. Among the owners of his teams was Donald Trump of the New Jersey Generals, who hoped to merge with the NFL, but eventually helped kill the new league. There is no question of whether Trump is involved in the new lawsuit.
Since then, the league’s owners and leaders have tried to preserve its legacy through professional football Hall of Fame displays, licensing agreements for fan clothing and an authorized documentary and book about the league, a lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles, he said.
“Fox is trying to reap where it hasn’t sown and is benefiting from confusion among true USFL fans by claiming the legacy of something it didn’t build,” said Nicholas Matic, a lawyer representing Real USFL LLC, the former owners’ organization. and USFL executives.
“Real USFL is working to protect the legacy of the players, owners, coaches and staff of the historic league. Fox simply claims to be something he is not – the successor to the 1980s league, which launched numerous careers in the Hall of Fame and changed the game of football. “
A statement requesting comment from a Fox Sports representative was not responded to immediately after regular business hours.
The lawsuit also alleges that Fox Sports and its attorneys sought to intimidate officially licensed suppliers to stop selling USFL goods by claiming that Fox has exclusive rights to the names and logos of all USFL teams.
“Fox could easily have created his own league with new teams, but instead chose to take the goodwill and nostalgia of the original league without the permission of the people who actually created it,” said Alex Brown, an adviser to former USFL owners. and executives.
“Fox cannot deny that Real USFL brands are recognizable and valued because they use them and purposefully confuse their league with the original. Instead of doing the right thing, Fox chose to try to harass the previous owners to obey. That will not happen. “
City News Service contributed to this report.