The Portland Pickles, an amateur summer-league team for collegiate baseball players, might not make a lot of noise in their 17-team league this season.
They’ve already made noise in court.
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In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the Pickles accused Disney of violating trademark law by appropriating their mascot, logo, and merchandise design in an animated series, Win or Lose, on Disney+. The series centers around a fictitious co-ed softball team named “The Pickles.”
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The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court of Oregon and provided to Newsweek Sports, names The Walt Disney Company and Disney Enterprises, Inc. as defendants.
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“As explained in the lawsuit recently filed against Disney, the Portland Pickles are taking action to eliminate confusion in the marketplace caused by unauthorized use of our trademarked logos on merchandise,” the team said in a statement. “Fueled by incredible support from our fans and community members from all walks of life, we felt we had no choice but to protect our rights—not just for ourselves, but on behalf of the little guy. We may not have limitless resources, but we have something equally powerful: an unwavering belief in defending what we’ve created and a determination to prevent our creative marks from being exploited without consequence.”
Win or Lose is Pixar‘s first-ever original long-form animated series. It follows the Pickles, a co-ed middle school softball team, throughout the week as they prepare for their upcoming championship game.
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Each episode focuses on a different character and their life off the field. The series premiered on Disney+ on February 19.
The Portland Pickles’ 18-page lawsuit accuses Disney of “leveraging their outsized market power to appropriate a brand identity with a decade of goodwill and fan devotion behind it.”
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Attorneys for the team are seeking unspecified damages and a judge’s order banning Disney from using their name in the show or on merchandise.
Disney has licensed the logo for the Peaks Valley Pickles of Win or Lose fame on T-shirts that feature a smiling green pickle logo.
The plaintiff in the case is Rose City Baseball LLC, the operator of the Portland Pickles.
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