Blizzard has big plans for their Overwatch League. Like traditional sports leagues, Blizzard wants to connect franchise owners in the Overwatch League to a city, and to help build fan support for professional Overwatch franchise at the local level. They even opted to create a logo that should look very familiar to sports fans… a silhouetted figure against a two-toned background.
Unfortunately, Major League Baseball believes the logo looks a little too familiar.
Major League Baseball has requested an “Extension of Time to File An Opposition” against the logo with the US Patent and Trademark Office. This request gives lawyers for Major League Baseball a chance to investigate the Overwatch League’s logo, and decide if its too similar to their own. If the USPTO agrees with Major League Baseball, Blizzard would have to change the design of the Overwatch League’s logo.
While it’s not hard to understand the MLB’s position (the two logos do look almost identical), I find it hard to side with the sports league over Blizzard. Putting both logos side-by-side-by-side with the National Basketball Association logo, which was adopted in 1971 and also features a silhouetted figure against a two-toned background, casts further doubt on the MLB’s tentative claim.
Major League Baseball has until July 26 to officially file the paperwork for an “Opposition” to the Overwatch League’s logo.
