A San Francisco Brewery has named one of its beers after LeBron James after the Golden State Warriors defeated James’ Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA Title. The Hazy IPA is being dubbed, Lebron Tears.
While the name has a lowercase b, it’s clear that the beer is named after LeBron James.
It’s clear that the beer is poking fun at LeBron James. The legal question is whether James has a trademark or right of publicity claim against the brewery.
Earlier this year, James was critical of Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban for a web series similar to James’ he entitled, “The Shop.” In fact, James and the ESPN’s Uninterrupted sent a demand letter about potential infringement claims. But James was sued by a company claiming that the series was a copy of a series set in a barber shop entitled, “Shop Talk.” The Complaint alleges that he had discussions with James about the possibility of a collaboration. The company did trademark the “Shop Talk” name.
While there is a copyright infringement claim in “The Shop” lawsuit, the Lebron Tears beer may have similar issues when it comes to trademark. Despite the small letter b, it’s clear that LeBron James is the one being lampooned. The brewery admits as much with its social media post.
Would James have legal recourse against the brewery? Maybe. In all likelihood, the brewery would claim that Lebron Tears is a parody. In these instances, the central issue is if there is a likelihood of confusion. This is a flexible test that analyzes a variety of factors including freedom of expression. Also, whether consumers would be confused with consumers. Here, since the brew is being sold in San Francisco where most consumers are Golden State Warrior fans, they know that the beer is not endorsed by James.