First Amendment Protects Artistic Depiction of University of Alabama Football Uniforms: Eleventh Circuit | Practical Law
In University of Alabama Board of Trustees v. New Life Art, Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment that an artist's depiction of the University's uniforms in paintings, prints and calendars was not trademark infringement under the Lanham Act. Instead, the Eleventh Circuit held that the First Amendment protected these artistically expressive objects. The Eleventh Circuit reversed and remanded the district court's judgment on the artist's reproduction of these works on mugs and other products, finding there to be issues of fact.