Minnesota Twins....Soccer Jersey Design

OK, this is cool.

M Willis is applying the soccer jersey design look to each MLB team's jersey. He published the AL Central today. Below is the link, and the Twins jersey (and narrative) is quite a ways down. I gotta say - I like it very much, especially the colors (white and light gray) and some of the fine touches, like the stars over the TC representing championships. And he seems to get us....

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Through it all, the Twins have always seemed like a friendly, comfortable brand - even when they were threatened with extinction in the late 90s, they seemed to keep their head down and play ball. Like two good-natured, uniformed giants having a friendly chat across the Mississippi, the Twins and their fans just seem like nice people.

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Soccer Out of Context: the AL Central ? M.Willis - Art, Design, Soccer, Tech

Does this have any "official" standing? His use of Target Corp's trademarked logo, or a variant of it at least, suggests this is more than just someone fooling around. If it's not official, I'm not sure his use falls under fair use. IANAL, of course, and it's not my problem to solve anyway.

Eh, the fair use of this is murky at best. It's not an official creation, just a design exercise. It could be argued that it is being used as promotional material but that probably wouldn't stand up in court. Stuff like this is done all the time and since nothing is actually being manufactured or printed, Ford/Target/etc. would have a hard time convincing a judge that it's detrimental to their trademark.

Besides, why would they bother with it? It's a harmless exercise that promotes the fact that they sponsor Target Field and the Twins. Reminding the public of that fact is a good thing for everyone involved.

I wonder how long it will be before economics finally convinces MLB to truly adopt the European football model. First, there will be shirt sponsors, like we have here. Next, they'll actually redesign the jerseys every year, to spur sales as fans want the latest version.

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Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

Eh, the fair use of this is murky at best. It's not an official creation, just a design exercise. It could be argued that it is being used as promotional material but that probably wouldn't stand up in court. Stuff like this is done all the time and since nothing is actually being manufactured or printed, Ford/Target/etc. would have a hard time convincing a judge that it's detrimental to their trademark.

Besides, why would they bother with it? It's a harmless exercise that promotes the fact that they sponsor Target Field and the Twins. Reminding the public of that fact is a good thing for everyone involved.

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These are pretty cool, but I wouldn't be surprised if this individual opens his Christmas card and finds out it is a cease and desist.

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Originally Posted by LimestoneBaggy

These are pretty cool, but I wouldn't be surprised if this individual opens his Christmas card and finds out it is a cease and desist.

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Unlikely. There is little to be gained except bad PR by going after people who are creating cool conceptual designs with your logo on it. If trademark violation was rampant, they'd be obligated to pursue violators (trademark can be lost and/or weakened if violations are not litigated) but stuff like this usually falls through the cracks because it's good for everyone involved.

As someone who played soccer as my second spring sport growing up, I'm digging these designs. I'd actually have to take a long look at one of these if they were real.

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Originally Posted by FrodaddyG

As someone who played soccer as my second spring sport growing up, I'm digging these designs. I'd actually have to take a long look at one of these if they were real.

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Agree. I love the Twins one. I would buy it if it existed.

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Originally Posted by John Bonnes

Agree. I love the Twins one. I would buy it if it existed.

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Me too