The Phillie Phanatic is Back!

Hi all,

With the Major League Baseball season officially commencing today, I thought it was fitting to share an interesting story about the Philadelphia Phillies mascot, the Phillie Phanatic!

While I’ve attached the link to the full Bloomberg Law story (and the short copyright settlement approval) below, here is a short summary of the story for those interested:

The Philadelphia Phillies purchased a copyright assignment in the Phanatic costume from Bonnie Erickson and Wayde Harrison, who created the costume, pursuant to two agreements: one in 1978 and another in 1984. However, the US Copyright Act allowed Erickson and Harrison to terminate the copyright grant 35 years post-agreement. Thus, the Phillies sued Erickson and Harrison in 2019, seeking a declaration that the two individuals cannot terminate their copyright interest in the mascot. While the two sides ultimately settled the matter confidentially in November 2021, two different magistrate judges made some interesting comments about the case prior to the settlement (which, in my opinion, unduly favour the interests of the Phillies due to their stature as a large MLB franchise and the Phanatic’s wide popularity as a memorable mascot):

1. A federal magistrate judge in August 2021 recommended that the Phillies be allowed to continue using the 2020 version of the mascot without having to pay the creators, and
2. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn said the current Phanatic costume is a derivative work created by the Phillies while it had rights to the design, exempting it from the creator’s termination rights.

Again, while the case was ultimately settled confidentially, it is worth considering whether the above statements unreasonably prejudice the rights of the creators in an attempt to allow the Phillies to capitalize on its highly profitable use of the Phanatic as its mascot. Ultimately, baseball is back, and the Phanatic is too!

Article: news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/phillie-phanatic-is-back-after-lawsuit-settlement-approved

Copyright Case: www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/PhilliesvHarrisonEricksonIncorporatedetalDocketNo119cv07239SDNYAu/4?1649374041