Sports betting publication loses court ruling over name

Thursday, May 4, 2000 | 10:25 a.m.

Times Mirror Co.'s "Sporting News" publication can force "Las Vegas Sporting News" to change its name, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Sporting News deserves trademark protection -- even though the name is not very unusual -- because it's famous among readers of sports periodicals.

Whitehall, Pa.-based Las Vegas Sports News, which provides sports-betting information, changed the name of its publication to Las Vegas Sporting News in 1997 and circulation increased somewhat, the court said.

Times Mirror's Sporting News, which has had a federally registered trademark since 1886, provides weekly sports information to its 540,000 subscribers, the court said.

Las Vegas Sports News officials declined comment on the ruling.

"Sufficient evidence supports a finding that customers who purchase these sports publications are 'unsophisticated consumers,' because they often buy on impulse and because the publications are relatively inexpensive," the majority ruling in the case said.

"These unsophisticated buyers lack the discrimination" and are more vulnerable to confusion, the ruling said.

The case was decided on a 2-1 vote of a three-judge appeals panel.