Building brand identity is one of the main goals of custom merchandise. But sales of these items are also huge moneymakers for bands, sports teams and more – so it’s not surprising that copycats want a piece of the action. Here are a couple recent stories about battles over phony merch, plus one about who has the right to use a certain color scheme.

1. Metallica Merchant Files Suit Against Counterfeiters At Concerts

No stranger to copyright litigation themselves, the classic heavy-metal band saw its official merchandise company, Merch Traffic, file preemptive lawsuits to prevent the sale of unauthorized merch outside concert venues this fall. The suits alleged poor quality and potential “confusion among prospective purchasers” and not only sought to prevent the sale of the counterfeit items (mostly T-shirts), but the seizure and destruction of them as well.

The band’s official merch was available in pop-up shops along the tour, and the collection included a variety of T-shirts and other apparel, as well as Yeti drinkware and coolers, art posters and figurines.


2. Homeland Security Fights World Series Fakes

Sports are serious business, and federal investigators got in on the game when the World Series came to Phoenix and Arlington, Texas, in October as special agents from the Department of Homeland Security scoured both cities for counterfeit products.

“We think fans deserve only high-quality, officially licensed merchandise, so we’re partnering with federal, state and local authorities as well as MLB to reduce the illegal importation and sale of counterfeit sports apparel and entertainment products,” said Jim Mancuso, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under DHS).

Big events like the World Series, Final Four and the Super Bowl attract counterfeiters out for a quick buck – without paying royalties or taxes, or paying attention to product quality – and the IPR Center reported that that more than a quarter-million counterfeit sports-related items, worth an estimated $97.8 million, were seized during Operation Team Player during the 2022 Super Bowl alone.

The IPR Center suggests best practices to avoid buying counterfeit licensed goods, including:

  • Shop only at authorized retail locations, rather than with street vendors.
  • Avoid purchasing apparel with poor stitching, ripped tags, irregular markings or misspellings.
  • Keep an eye out for items that are made from inferior quality materials or that have no official sewn-in or screen-printed labels identifying the licensee.

3. NFL Says ‘No’ To College Wearing Nostalgic Uniforms

The University of Houston football team, normally clad in the school’s bright red and white, unveiled a ‘Luv Ya Blue’ uniform inspired by the erstwhile Houston Oilers for its Big 12 Conference debut. Fans loved it, with many clamoring for matching fan gear on social media.

Sadly, the NFL said no. As reported by ESPN, the league’s merchandising and licensing division sent a cease-and-desist letter to the school demanding it halt any further use of the colorway.

The Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1996 and soon became the Titans – but retaining all the old trademarks. The Titans recently wore Columbia Blue on the field themselves, and the team is reportedly planning to wear the throwback uniforms again when the Houston Texans visit Nashville in December.