Judge rules against NCAA in DraftKings ‘March Madness’ trademark lawsuit

Legal

A federal judge has denied the NCAA’s motion for a temporary restraining order to stop DraftKings from using registered trademarks associated with its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

The complaint for trademark infringement, filed in the Southern District of Indiana last week, requested that DraftKings stop using “March Madness,” “Final Four,” “Elite Eight,” “Sweet Sixteen” and variations of those terms to promote its business.

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled that the NCAA did not show how the online sportsbook’s use of the terms would cause irreparable harm.

“With further discovery the NCAA may be able to show they are entitled to a preliminary or permanent injunction, and those claims remain pending,” Pratt wrote.

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