Skip to main content

Federal judge denies NCAA’s restraining order request to make DraftKings stop using ‘March Madness’

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday denied the NCAA’s motion for a temporary restraining order to stop DraftKings from using registered trademarks associated with its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

The complaint for trademark infringement, filed in the Southern District of Indiana last week, requested that DraftKings stop using “March Madness,” “Final Four,” “Elite Eight” and “Sweet Sixteen” and variations of those terms to promote its business.

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled the NCAA did not show how the online sports wagering platform’s use of the terms would cause irreparable harm.

“With further discovery the NCAA may be able to show they are entitled to a preliminary or permanent injunction, and those claims remain pending,” Pratt wrote.

DraftKings has been using “March Madness” and other familiar terms to refer to the NCAA Tournament for more than five years and has the legal right to do so, the sportsbook said in a court filing Wednesday in response to a complaint filed by the NCAA last week.

The NCAA has said it actively avoids any appearance of affiliation with gambling and said in the complaint that DraftKings’ use of the terms confuses customers by making it appear the NCAA is on board.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
Read Next Story