The New Phanatic Is an Affront to Phillies Fans Everywhere, Mascot Makers Say
Paul J. Kennedy, a partner in the Intellectual Property Department of Pepper Hamilton, was quoted in the February 25, 2020 Philadelphia Inquirer article, " The New Phanatic Is an Affront to Phillies Fans Everywhere, Mascot Makers Say."
The subtle update to the Phanatic's look gives the Phillies a "very compelling argument" in court, said Paul Kennedy, an intellectual-property attorney at Pepper Hamilton. Even if the Phillies lose the copyright to the mascot in June, Kennedy said, under the Copyright Act, the team would still be entitled to its derivations of the work created before the agreement expires. That arguably includes the freshened Phanatic, Kennedy said. "They got it in under the wire," he said. "From the Phillies' standpoint, I see that as trying to communicate that they accept that it is copyrighted in the current form, and are trying to freshen it up."