Toronto bar/restaurant/venue Sneaky Dee's was forced to remove posts promoting a showing of a Blue Jays playoff game after a team representative contacted management and warned that use of the Jays logo and player images could result in legal action.
“We received a letter from someone at the Blue Jays asking us to remove it due to copyright and trademark issues, which we happily agreed to,” manager George Diamantouros said. Canadian Press. “We're going to market it a little differently, you know, just 'Go Birds,'” he added.
A team spokesperson explained to CP that the logo and player images can only be used by official team partners and that it is an industry-wide standard—perhaps one with which Toronto businesses and fans are unfamiliar, given the city's long history with underperforming professional sports teams.
“To all our colleagues in family restaurants and bars, although I show Jay’s game.[s] and bringing people together during this exciting time in our city is great, we would like to advise everyone NOT to use the Blue Jays logo to avoid potential lawsuits,” Snix shared in an Instagram post along with a screenshot of the warning management received. “It’s easy for small business owners and fans to fall into the trap, but there are legal considerations and consequences to consider.”
One commentator aptly noted: “What is Rogers expecting?” “Gather together tonight to watch the bird ball game,” while PUP's Steve Sladkowski added, “Stealth and abstinence.” See post below. Go Turanno Baseball Birds!
