Tournament Of Roses Association Sues Pasadena Over Trademark Ownership Of 'Rose Bowl,' 'Rose Bowl Game'
PASADENA (CBSLA) — After the recent back-and-forth over whether the Rose Bowl Game would actually take place at the Rose Bowl, the Tournament of Roses Association is suing the city of Pasadena over the trademarks of the world-famous venue and events.
The Tournament of Roses Association claims it has full ownership of the name, but the city contends it shares naming rights. Tensions apparently escalated when COVID-19 restrictions caused the cancellation of the annual Rose Parade and banned fans from the stands for the Rose Bowl. The annual playoff college football game was initially going to be held at the Rose Bowl without fans.
Just a few days later, it was announced the Rose Bowl was being moved to Texas.
The Tournament of Roses and College Football Playoff worked to move the game to Texas -- only the second time the Rose Bowl was played outside of Pasadena, and the first time since 1942.
"We are a nonprofit civic organization with hundreds of volunteers and deep roots in Pasadena," David Eads, executive director and CEO of the Tournament of Roses, said. "This is where the parade and game belong every year, and we have no intention of going anywhere.
The association filed the lawsuit so a federal court could determine the ownership of the "Rose Bowl" and "Rose Bowl Game" trademarks.
According to the lawsuit, the tournament association invoked the "force majeure'' clause of its contract, maintaining that the pandemic was out of its control, so the association had the right to move the game out of Pasadena to AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Although the dispute originated in the move of the game, a move agreed to by the city of Pasadena, problems have persisted through the city's "continued insistence that it is the co-owner of the marks and that its consent is necessary'' to invoke the contract's "force majeure'' clause, the association claimed.
Pasadena spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said city officials had just received the lawsuit and would not immediately be able to comment.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
