Will the use of major league baseball team names on t-shirts violate copyright and trademark laws

The short answer is "yes" your sales would be infringing. Both RED SOX and TIGERS are trademarks owned by those respective baseball organizations and each trademark is federally registered as used on shirts.

Think of this way: You see an opportunity to sell tee shirts using the name of a baseball team whose owner spent many hours and bazillions of dollars to achieve name recognition and good will in the baseball industry. Why on earth would it be lawful for someone else (i.e. you) to come in late in the game and sell shirts bearing the name of that baseball team -- in effect, trading on the name? It isn't. No matter how good your intention is to promote the team -- or rock group, or philanthropic organization, or any other entity that you do not own.

The longer answer is that it's very likely that someone who views your tee shirts for sale will falsely believe that either the baseball team is selling your shirts or endorses or sponsors the sale of the shirts. In any event, the potential buyer will likely be deceived by your advertisements and sales and so your conduct is unlawful.

Now if your tee shirts were enblazened with the slogan "This guy hates the Red Sox" then no one will think that the Red Sox organization either sells or endorses the shirts and so the sale of those tee shirts may be lawful.

The above is just general information and is not intended as legal advice. Before engaging in or refraining from any business activity you should first consult with a competent attorney.

I want to play devil's advocate here and figure out ways that your shirts (well, some anyway) would not infringe. My colleagues above are right - it would be tough to say they don't infringe. For instance, no matter how you put it, the Red Sox are the Red Sox. Even if you don't use logos, colors, or even fonts, everyone knows exactly what you're talking about. No way can someone think they're some other Red Sox. Same thing with the White Sox, Mets, Dodgers, Royals, Mariners, etc.

But what about the Orioles? What if you made the shirt green and pink, instead of black and orange? What if you used Times New Roman font instead of the classic cursive that the beloved O's are known for? And what if you put a picture of an oriole, instead of the actual Orioles logo? Well, I think you'd have a pretty good case for saying that you're referring to the actual bird itself, and not the team. In that case, I would say you definitely wouldn't have any trademark or copyright issues.

But you'd have a pretty crappy shirt. :)

**This post is for informational purposes only, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send me any confidential information via email.**