If you think baseball has given us everything—laughter, joy, and tears—then you might witness something new on the block. Well, what was expected to be a cracker of a game between the Portland Pickles and the imaginary Peaks Valley Pickles quickly turned into a legal dispute that no one expected. The reason? Well, the summer league baseball team filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney on Wednesday, which quickly became the talk of the town. But what’s behind the scenes that unfolded?
Fans worldwide were confused when T-shirts referencing the team’s similar name (Peaks Valley Pickles) appeared in the animated Disney+ series “Win or Lose.” This was an act of infringement of the trademark, prompting the college baseball team to take a direct dig and file a lawsuit in the federal court. Disney appears to be in serious trouble right now, as the local team’s lawyers are already asking the judge to prohibit Disney from using the team’s name going forward.
They are also seeking an immediate remedy for the damages resulting from copyright infringement. The lawsuit read, “That brand is now at risk of being diluted and devalued — not because of poor business decisions or market shifts, but because Disney thought the name ‘Pickles’ was catchy and used it without regard for the real people and real community it represents.”
But this isn’t their first name; someone blamed Disney for a similar kind of incident. Earlier, renowned screenwriter Buck Woodall also filed a similar case against them in 2020, claiming that Disney stole the idea for their Moana film from Woodall’s project named “Bucky the Surfer Boy.” However, later, Disney won the case. In a similar turn of events, the college baseball team is now the target of Disney’s wrath.
For those unaware, the logo of the team and its name were registered as trademarks long back in 2016. Since then, jerseys and t-shirts frequently featured Dillon, the local mascot, a pickle wearing the green and white jersey. Now, Disney has started selling the T-shirts that feature the same logo, which is a direct violation of the trademark. Although Disney is yet to make an official statement regarding the incident, will there be any repercussions?
Will Disney be penalized for the infringement of rights?
Well, according to the lawsuit filed by the college baseball team, “Disney’s actions were not only intentional but brazen, leveraging their outsized market power to appropriate brand identity with a decade of goodwill and fan devotion behind it.” And to some extent, it’s true. Disney+ has been one of the top subscribed video streaming platforms, standing right behind Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, boasting more than 159 million paid subscribers.
Using their power to replicate similar kinds of products or using it in their show to make a profit, the college baseball team neither imagined nor ever expected. “Fueled by incredible support from our fans and community members from all walks of life, we felt we had no choice but to protect our rights — not just for ourselves, but on behalf of the little guy,” the Pickles added in a recent statement, blatantly pointing out how Disney imitated a small brand similar to theirs that was trademarked back in 2016.
With the company selling merchandise as promotional tactics for the new series, it often confused the fans when choosing where to purchase from—Disney or the Portland Pickles. It’s quite evident that this kind of incident not only degrades the goodwill of the brand but also makes it difficult for consumers to recognize the actual products and, ultimately, fail to make purchases properly too.
With the college baseball team now demanding compensation for the damages caused intentionally by Disney, we all have to wait for some more time to see what happens. Till then, stay tuned with us. What are your thoughts about the incident?
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