Saints Can Continue Using Fleur de Lis After Legal Dispute
On what grounds would you ever consider suing a professional sports team? Perhaps you are a member of a football team and feel you’ve been unfairly accused of using illicit substances. Maybe you were unfairly removed by security from a basketball game without cause or provocation. Then again, you could have caught a significant home run baseball of a player’s career and immediately had it confiscated “for the sake of historical preservation.” Regardless of the case you bring to the attention of the judicial system, you’ll probably be seeking a favorable outcome. In addition, you’ll probably want some form of compensation, such as reinstatement, an apology, or return of the property.
Aside from immediately identifying a team, symbols also possess incredible historical significance in the sport itself. The symbol, or more accurately, the logo, of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints was recently contested for its usage. A gentleman filed a lawsuit against the team in 2023, and the case was dismissed this week. His reason for the filing was that he claimed he was the “direct descendant of the Kings of France” and that he and his family owned the intellectual property rights for the Saints logo. He also sought the cancellation of the team’s patent for the usage of this symbol on their helmets and jerseys. This is because the chief judge couldn’t find any evidence to support his claim, the case was dismissed, and the Saints can continue to use their logo.
The symbol at the center of the claim is commonly referred to as the fleur de lis or “lily flower.” It was designated in 1967 as the team’s official logo and in 1974 was patented as their trademark. The “lily” can be traced back many centuries to French nobility and has been utilized extensively in coats of arms, art, and architecture. Throughout its history, it has had many meanings, such as sovereignty, fertility, and purity, and has represented Roman Catholicism’s Virgin Mary and the Holy Trinity. Since the early 1700s, it has been affiliated with the city of New Orleans to denote its French roots and the ancestry of its founders. The current colors of the team’s logo are gold and black, while keeping its easily recognizable design for almost 60 years.
