The University of Pepperdine has sued Netflix and Warner Bros. for a new comedy series of the writer and executive producer Mindy Kaling, called Running Point, claiming that the program “unduly appropriated” her basketball team of the NCAA when using Its name, colors of the equipment and number 37, the jersey number used by the school pet.
Pepperdine University filed the claim in a federal court in California, accusing Netflix and Warner Bros. of registered brand infraction, undue appropriation and misleading advertising, among other positions, claiming that the program caused its fictional basketball team to intentionally resembled the of the University.
Running Point is a comedy in which a partying, played by Kate Hudson, inherits the fictional team of her family’s NBA, called Los Angeles Waves, which, according to the demand, shares the same name and has “logo, branding and branding surprisingly similar colors ”to those of the male team of Division I of Pepperdine.
The program also presents a player with the Jersey number “37”, which uses the school pet, promoted in the merchandise of the team and widely associated with Pepperdine due to its foundation in 1937.
Pepperdine’s demand indicates that he has several registered brands that protect the name, identity and reputation of the Waves, and that the use of such a similar image in the series will confuse the public making him believe that Running Point is associated with the university.
In his complaint, Pepperdine – a Christian private university – qualifies Running Point as a “vulgar” series and argues that it promotes issues that are not aligned with the values of the institution, such as the consumption of alcohol and drugs, insinuations and sexual content, so as offensive language.
The lawsuit requests from the Court “precautionary measures to avoid the continuous use of registered brands of Pepperdine” and an unpleasant amount of monetary damage.
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The representatives of Netflix and Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to the request for Comments from Forbes this Friday (Kaling, Hudson and other individuals have not been appointed as defendants).
It is still unknown if the demand will delay the premiere of the series or if it will force the screen changes. Comedy plans its premiere in Netflix on February 27.
Kaling, creator of successful comedies such as The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever and The Sex Lives of College Girls, wrote and produced Running Point along with Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen. Hudson, Howard Klein and two high executives of Los Angeles Lakers – the president and co -owner Jeanie Buss and the Manager of Special Projects Linda Rambis – are also executive producers.
The series stars Hudson in the role of Gordon Island, who is unexpectedly named owner of his family’s basketball team. As the only woman in a family of brothers, she embarks on the mission of demonstrating her value in the world of sport dominated by men, with the help of her fiance (played by Max Greenfield from New Girl) and a high executive of the team, Interpreted by Brenda Song (known for his work at Disney Channel during his adolescence).
This article was originally published by Forbes US
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