Pepperdine College sued Netflix and Warner Bros. over a new sitcom that aspects a fictional Los Angeles basketball franchise whose branding resembles Pepperdine’s NCAA Division I group, the Waves.
The faculty—which is affiliated with the Churches of Christ and is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities—claimed trademark infringement and argued that the sigh’s messaging runs counter to Pepperdine’s values and recognition.
“Without our permission, Netflix continues to promote Running Point, a new series that has misappropriated our trademarked title, the Waves, our colors, blue and orange, our fatherland of Los Angeles, and even the 365 days we were founded as an institution,” said Sean Burnett, Pepperdine’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
Thanks for signing up.
Please click right here to witness all our newsletters.
Sorry, one thing went atrocious. Please are attempting all but again.
Created by Mindy Kaling and premiering on the streaming carrier this Thursday, Running Point stars Kate Hudson because the brand new owner of the Waves, with Chet Hanks, Brenda Tune, and Max Greenfield within the supporting solid.
In accordance to the lawsuit, filed February 20 in US District Court docket in California, the emblem and branding for the sigh’s group is simply too shut to Pepperdine’s.
“Defendants’ ‘Waves’ half the actual same title, use strikingly identical branding, have the actual same colour combos (blue, orange and white), promote the player assortment of Pepperdine’s infamous mascot and 365 days of the college’s founding (37), and are within the identical metropolis, alongside with several a form of similarities,” the lawsuit said.
The college, located in Malibu, 29 miles from downtown LA, has a trademark on the rate WAVES that it uses for athletic instruments, marketing, sports facilities, and a form of public displays, the suit said.
Pepperdine has aged the Waves as its group title for the reason that starting; the college’s first president advised it so that you may maybe distinguish Pepperdine’s teams from others with animals as mascots. The faculty adopted blue and orange as its colors to assert the Pacific Ocean and the state of California.
Its NCAA athletic program entails eight males’s and nine ladies folk’s Division I teams, including its basketball teams. The males’s basketball program at Pepperdine has competed 13 times within the NCAA event and has despatched 18 alumni to play professionally within the NBA.
Pepperdine said in its submitting final week that its recognition shall be “irreparably harmed” via its trademarked trademarks and branding in Running Point as a consequence of the sigh’s infamous language, sexually specific mutter material, references to alcohol and illegal substances, and violent altercations. (The sigh carries a TV-MA ranking.) The suit furthermore references a clip from the trailer that presentations Hudson’s persona posing topless with a pair of basketballs.
These messages and images slide counter to Pepperdine’s Christian values and would hinder its ability to pursue its mission and recruit students, faculty, and athletes, the suit said.
Workers from the college tried to contact Netflix and Warner Bros. thru phone calls, electronic mail correspondence, and a cease-and-desist letter but were now now not ready to reach a sufficient agreement, the suit said.
Spokespersons for Netflix and Warner Bros. did now not straight retort to a request for divulge from Christianity This day.
Pepperdine is in search of injunctive reduction that can maybe maybe maybe cease Netflix and Warner Bros. from utilizing its emblems or any a form of marks which can maybe maybe maybe be “confusingly identical” to Pepperdine’s in Running Point.
Gold Plated Ark of the Covenant Replica:7 X 4 X 4.5" From Jerusalem
Hand Carved Olive Wood Candlesticks Candle Holders (9 inches)
14Mar 
14Mar 
14Mar 
14Mar 
14Mar 
14Mar 
by