February 8, 2021 | less than a minute read

ROSE BOWL Dispute: What's in a Name?

Taylor English

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet).

Not so sure about that, in the context of The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association claims that it is the rightful owner of the marks in its lawsuit against the City of Pasadena for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and breach of contract.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on February 4, touches upon both whether the City of Pasadena has created confusion in the marketplace about whether it owns any rights in the Rose Bowl and Rose Bowl Game trademarks as well as whether the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association needs the City of Pasadena’s consent under a contract to host the famous college football Rose Bowl Game outside of Pasadena, California, if a force majeure event, such as the coronavirus pandemic, occurs. In fact, this year’s Rose Bowl did take place away from Pasadena and was instead hosted in Arlington, Texas.