Lamar Jackson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are involved in a legal dispute over the number 8.
Jackson, who has worn No. 8 throughout his NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens, is challenging Earnhardt’s attempt to trademark the number, according to trademark attorney Josh Gerben. On Wednesday, Jackson filed a Notice of Opposition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), arguing that the NASCAR legend’s “trademark application for a stylized version of the number 8—used prominently on his race cars—conflicts with Jackson’s own trademark rights.”
A two-time NFL MVP, Jackson has already trademarked “ERA 8” and “ERA 8 BY LAMAR JACKSON.” Those registrations cover clothing, duffel bags, sports gear and other products.
In his filing, Jackson contends that he is “widely associated” with the No. 8 because of his NFL achievements and Earnhardt’s registrations “could falsely imply a connection between the two athletes and infringe on his established rights.”
Earnhardt is reportedly looking for protections for apparel and toy products, including die-cast cards. The case will now move on to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).
This isn’t Jackson’s first legal action against a fellow elite athlete associated with the No. 8. Last summer, Jackson challenged Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Troy Aikman’s use of the digit in a complaint filed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Jackson lobbied his complaint against FL101, a company that lists Aikman as a director and is responsible for the production of various products that Jackson’s attorney argued “highly similar in sound, appearance, connotation, and commercial impression.”
“Some of the instant reaction is, like, how can you own a number?” Christine Farley, a law professor and intellectual property expert at American University, told ESPN’s Michael Rothstein at the time. “The truth is you can own almost anything you think of as a trademark. You can own a smell. You can own a sound. You can own a single color. You can own a single number.”
For what it’s worth, Gerben says he ultimately expects all three men will have access to their own registrations and be able to use the No. 8 in different ways.
