Mwanza James is a professional football player with the Grenada United Football Club. His agent has told him that he needs to be more of a “showman” on the field in order to become more well known to the fans. Mwanza, a talented centre forward, determines that the next time he scores a goal he will perform his new creation, “the Mwanza Chicken Jig.” During the next game, he scores a penalty and performs the Chicken Jig on the touchline. The fans love it. He continues to do his “Mwanza Chicken Jig” over the next two seasons every time he scores a goal. Fans have become well acquainted with the jig and cheer loudly every time he does it. One day while watching television in the off-season, Mwanza sees a twelve-year-old boy with a football performing what he recognizes as “Mwanza Chicken Jig” in an advertisement for a local sporting goods store. Mwanza’s friends recognize it as well. Mwanza contacts the store and asks them to remove the image of the “Mwanza Jig” from the commercial. The store refuses to remove the advertisement. Mwanza files a lawsuit in the Grenada High Court. Required: The store owners have asked you to discuss, and analyze if Mwanza has a cause of action against them and to identify the image rights legal arguments that Mwanza and his team of lawyers are likely to put forward. You also suggest a number of possible defences against Mwanza’s allegations of infringement of his intellectual property rights. Assuming that you are the trial judge in this case, how would you rule and why. Support your judgement with case law from the domain of image rights under intellectual property legislation.
Mwanza James is a professional football player with the Grenada United Football Club. His agent has told him that he needs to be more of a “showman” on the field in order to become more well known
to the fans. Mwanza, a talented centre forward, determines that the next time he scores a goal he will
perform his new creation, “the Mwanza Chicken Jig.” During the next game, he scores a penalty
and performs the Chicken Jig on the touchline. The fans love it. He continues to do his “Mwanza Chicken
Jig” over the next two seasons every time he scores a goal. Fans have become well
acquainted with the jig and cheer loudly every time he does it. One day while watching
television in the off-season, Mwanza sees a twelve-year-old boy with a football performing what
he recognizes as “Mwanza Chicken Jig” in an advertisement for a local sporting goods store.
Mwanza’s friends recognize it as well. Mwanza contacts the store and asks them to remove the
image of the “Mwanza Jig” from the commercial. The store refuses to remove the advertisement. Mwanza files a lawsuit in the Grenada High Court.
Required:
The store owners have asked you to discuss, and analyze if Mwanza has a cause of action against them and to identify the image rights legal arguments that Mwanza and his team of lawyers are likely to put forward. You also suggest a number of possible defences against Mwanza’s allegations of infringement of his intellectual property rights.
Assuming that you are the trial judge in this case, how would you rule and why. Support your judgement with case law from the domain of image rights under intellectual property legislation.
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