Wednesday Weird: Braves Vs Brave

It seems that baseball's Atlanta Braves are so incensed over Disney's use of the title Brave for their upcoming princess movie that the team is protesting their trademark petition. Apparently, the Braves own the trademark for all references to "brave" and/or "braves" and the Disney title would cause confusion. Seriously? Yeah, not really. Okay, they really are petitioning the use of the title but they do NOT own all references to the word. I'm pretty sure that isn't the way trademark law works for a common-use word.

There are hundreds of references to brave in the entertainment industry. Movies, songs, books, and so on. I recall the words to the National Anthem includes a brave reference. Which is sung at the beginning of most sporting events, including baseball. Is trademark so specific that one can trade mark a commonly used word? Can I trade mark THE or OF? That would be awesome.

This whole thing is made even stranger by the fact that the Braves have other contracts with Disney. Their spring training camp is held at Disney Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida. I can't imagine this thing is going over well. And of all conglomerates the Braves want to take on... Disney? Really? Talk about David and Goliath syndrome! So is the team being juvenile and petty or is Disney taking advantage of the team's trademarked name in order to further their film?

I personally think the entire thing is stupid and that the Braves folks are acting like elementary school kids picking fights with high school students just to try to show off for their little girlfriends. Weird situation that I'll be watching... especially considering I am so very excited about Brave!

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS