Hospitality

The National Football League (NFL) will play its 45th annual championship game, more commonly known as the SUPER BOWL, on Sunday, February 6, 2011. The game will pit the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The SUPER BOWL mark is protected by trademark law, as are the team names, and businesses planning promotions centered around the game should use the SUPER BOWL mark and/or team names cautiously.

Worth an estimated $19 million, the trademark TAVERN ON THE GREEN has become the subject of a bitter feud between the City of New York’s municipal government, and the descendant’s of Warren LeRoy, the last restaurateur to operate the establishment until its doors were closed in December of 2009.  The City has owned the parcel of land situated on the southwestern edge of Central Park since 1934.  The land, initially housed a sheep barn, but was renovated that same year to accommodate a seasonal restaurant called Tavern on the Green, which was so named by then Parks Commissioner, Robert Moses.  The City continued to pay the bulk of the costs for subsequent renovations.