FTC Files Joint Amicus Brief in Matter of American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League

The Federal Trade Commission has joined the U.S. Department of Justice in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in the matter of American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League, No. 08-661 (U.S. S. Ct.). The case involves allegations that the NFLs exclusive licensing agreement restrained trade, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, and unlawfully monopolized trade, in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The joint amicus brief urges the Supreme Court to deny certiorari in this case, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a district courts summary judgment in favor of the NFL and its separately owned teams on the ground that they function as a single entity when licensing and marketing their logos and trademarks under an exclusive licensing agreement with Reebok International Ltd. The brief concludes that the case does not merit Supreme Court review because of an absence of a split among the courts of appeals and because it does not present an appropriate vehicle for ruling generally whether a sports league and its member teams should be deemed to function as single entity.