Lamar Jackson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. dispute over number '8' trademark

Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens versus Dale Earnhardt Jr. NASCAR royalty

No, it's not a celebrity boxing match, but it is a fight of sorts with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as the referee

The two prominent athletes have registered trademarks on their famous digit, the number eight

First things first, can you register a number as a trademark? Well, I asked Robert Combo of the law firm Miller Nash

Combo also teaches trademark law at Seattle University. Can a single digit number be a trademark? Yes, if it is used as a trademark. That means if the person who purports to own that trademark is using it as a brand in connection with goods or services or both offered to the public

The next question is, how similar are the designs or marks? Jackson holds registered trademarks for three designs

the two most similar to a stylized eight that are in question

Era 8 by Lamar Jackson and Era 8. Jackson's challenge to Earnhardt Jr. contends that

he's widely associated with number eight due to his NFL status and brand merchandise

Earnhardt's efforts could falsely imply a connection between the two athletes. and customers could mistakenly believe products offered by Earnhardt are related to products offered by Jackson Those are issues that could be debated if a lawsuit is eventually filed Which star has the right to market products using the famous number eight

Well, that could be worth potentially hundreds of millions over a lifetime

Another major factor, who was the first to register the trademark in question

So where these two guys are at right now is which of them has the prior right

and which of them is out of luck and is going to have to market themselves

differently and not rely on that identical jersey number. Late Friday, Dale Jr. posted a message on

social media saying his company secured the rights to a different stylized eight than the one in the

Jackson Challenge. No word on whether that change will be enough to satisfy Jackson's camp, but

Cumbo says that's a common way to settle cases like this. Both sides can continue to use the mark

provided that each one uses the mark in a way that clearly distinguishes it from the other guy's mark

So it might be colors. It might be a typeface. It might be additional wording

That would be a really good way to resolve things. And Dale Jr. isn't the only star Jackson has an eight dispute with

Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, who also wore that number, is also battling with the Raven quarterback

If Steve Young, Alex Ovechkin, or Cal Ripken Jr. get involved, we're going to need a few more lawyers

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis