https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/channel-33/id1058911614?mt=2

Bill Simmons Podcast Network, aka Channel 33

His own Podcast and those of some other former Grantland people will be on BSPN.

This should end well. No way ESPN sues for trademark infringement.

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This should end well. No way ESPN sues for trademark infringement.

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Parody is fair use

Fair use is for copyright, not trademark.

https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm#10

**** you're right. Head up my ass there. Obviously you can use a trademark in news reporting or something like that, which would be fair use, so I'm wrong.

Still, I highly doubt this would fall under parody as it's a competing product in the same field (sports broadcasting and reporting). That's very different than making a pig muppet "Spa'am." In that situation, there wasn't a product at all. It was just a silly name in a movie and therefore unlikely to cause confusion for consumers. The question here is whether courts would find BSPN caused confusion with respect to ESPN. My guess is yes and I seriously doubt he can hide behind parody.

I think the intention is for him to use Channel 33 or The Bill Simmons Podcast Network when referring to it. If his fans decide to give it the moniker BSPN, that's not on him. And he knows his fans will, which is why he named it that. And he knows his fans are pretty loyal and most think he got kind of screwed at ESPN. And it is funny.

So as long as he doesn't call it BSPN and only refers to it by the entire name, he is probably fine.

Yea I can't say. I took an intellectual property class about 3 years ago and we spent maybe 3 weeks on trademark. That's about the extent of my trademark litigation knowledge, so I'm not exactly an expert. He seems to be walking right up to the edge, though, and I could see it going either way. If he sticks with the Bill Simmons Podcast Network, he'll probably be okay as I doubt a court would make the jump to initials and how the initials might infringe on the ESPN mark. But if he's a bit loose with it, they probably could stick him for it.

Looks like Simmons is referring to it at the BS Podcast Network.

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This should end well. No way ESPN sues for trademark infringement.

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Parody is fair use

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I think you'd have a tough time arguing that this is a parody.

Has anyone else looked at the BSPN and had the thought cross their mind that it was a Black Sports Programming Network?

#BlackNetworksMatter

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Simmons is arguably the best sports writer over the last ten years but he strikes me as smarmy, petty, and unlikeable.

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Plus everything about Boston since the Revolutionary War kind of sucks.

I think "BS" sums up Simmons' views pretty well.