SEATTLE - The Seattle punk band March Madness has filed a $9.3 million name infringement lawsuit against the NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament.
Attorney Alice Swankston-McMule for the Seattle band said that her clients have been using the name March Madness ever since they graduated from high school back in 2001.
A spokesperson for the NCAA said that the NCAA has been using the name March Madness ever since 1939, over 70 years ago. Swankston-McMule said that it may be a fact, but the fact of the matter is that the name March Madness was never copyrighted or registered.
She went on to say that her clients registered the name March Madness with the U.S. Library of Congress in 2007.
Swankston-McMule has said that her clients have agreed to allow the NCAA governing committee to continue to use the name for this years tournament. But after this year, the NCAA, in order to use the will have to pay her clients $8 million.
The NCAA said that they will not pay one red cent. They have been informed by their team of four attorneys that the band from Seattle has the rights to the name March Madness full and clear.
SIDENOTE: Reports that the band had filed a similar lawsuit against the NAACP proved to be unfounded and were only started because every member of the NAACP played high school basketball.
