Found this little news bit on The LAW, and just had to mention it."The WWE and Jay Reso may be heading to court over the rights to name "Captain Charisma". The WWE never officially trademarked the term, so when Reso left the WWE he attempted to trademark the term. WWE is now coming back saying that in states in WWE contracts that any nicknames that the performer comes up with become property of the WWE. I guess I better contact my legal team for those LAW spots. "
This case could prove interesting, and I'd really like to get a legal opinion on the whole thing.
From a purely common sense point of view, WWE has no case. Christian was using Captain Charisma as a nickname while in the WWE, and they even produced t-shirts with the phrase on them. (Then, for some reason, they pulled all the shirts, despite the fact that Christian was become quite popular, and the fans were responding to both the name, and the new attitude.) Yet for some reason, WWE chose NOT to trademark the nickname, despite
being within their legal right to do so. I'm also wondering if the WWE's recent history of trademarking nicknames for wrestlers no longer in their employ could work against them in this instance. They trademarked "Dudley Boyz" and "Billy Gunn" after they let those guys go. So why didn't they do the same thing with "Captain Charisma?"
I really think that Christian Cage could win this legal battle. All that he needs is a good lawyer who is willing to work on contingency, and the courage of his convictions. If anyone has any understanding of the US legal system and can offer a more informed opinion, I would love to hear it.
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