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ESPN Daily

Why Athletes Want Trademarks for Everything

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.63.9K Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2020

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tompa Bay. Danny Dimes. The Process. You’ve heard these names and phrases. But do you know think of them as a business? ESPN’s Ryan Hockensmith takes us into the strange world of athletes and the trademarks they seek, as they try to turn viral moments and images into income. Hear why trademark applications are booming, how they work, and the "all-time" trademark story of 2020 (hint: Lou Williams plus chicken wings). Then, Stephen A. Smith ponders Lebron James’s tumultuous and triumphant 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Ryan, I wanted to take us back in the time machine to November 15th, 2020.

0:15.1

That was the day that the Arizona Cardinals were hosting the Buffalo Bills.

0:19.6

It is the fourth quarter.

0:21.6

The Cardinals are down 30 to 26 with just 11 seconds remaining.

0:28.1

And then this happens.

0:29.2

Murray back to throw, flushed out, rolling left in trouble.

0:32.5

Got to launch it.

0:33.2

He does.

0:33.9

Left side, into the end zone, jump ball.

0:36.5

And it is. Is it caught? Is it caught? Oh my goodness.

0:40.3

It's caught. The Andre Hopkins caught it. He caught it for a touchdown with one second left. I can't

0:46.4

believe it. A name, Ryan, gets immediately attached to this play. What is it? It's good old Hail Murray.

0:56.9

The Hail Murray, where does that name originate?

0:59.8

Where does it come from?

1:01.4

Well, like it happens so many times these days, within seconds, Twitter goofballs have come

1:06.9

up with 39 different nicknames for the play.

1:10.5

And that's the most likely source was that it was somewhere on Twitter.

1:15.0

So it goes from being this thing that happens on a Sunday, making a seismic impact on the sports universe.

1:22.3

And then what happens in the very next day?

1:25.3

Within 24 hours, Murray's management team had swooped in and applied for the

1:29.4

official trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. And it wasn't just for

1:36.0

Hail Murray. They also went after Murray Magic. Every management team for every athlete is

...

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