The Maple Leafs Aren't Happy That Snoop Dogg's Logo For His Marijuana Company Vaguely Resembles Theirs

TheSportingNews-  The rapper is catching heat over the logo on his Leafs by Snoop product line. His business features marijuana products such as cannabis flowers, edibles and concentrates, and it opened in Colorado, where the drug is legal. 

Snoop Dogg, whose legal name is Calvin Broadus, filed a trademark application for his company with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Nov. 17. After seeing the logo Snoop used, the NHL's Maple Leafs decided there were enough similarities with their own logo to object. 

On June 8, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) filed an opposition to Snoop Dogg's logo in order to get more time to consider whether to formally challenge the logo. Christopher Sprigman, an intellectual properties professor at the New York University School of Law, told TSN that MLSE could argue the logos will cause confusion in the marketplace.



Look, I don't know is Snoop Dogg's logo was influenced by the Toronto Maple Leafs. If I had to use basic common sense I would say no - the perpetually faded rapper from Southern California did not go rifling through the emblems of Canadian hockey teams looking for the best way to promote his recreational drug company. Call it a hunch, but I'm pretty sure they both look like leafs because they both represent two different types of leafs. If Snoop decided to go with something that more closely resembled the Vancouver Canucks' whale then I think we would have much stronger copyright infringement case on our hands. 

Even in the unlikely scenario that Snoop did watch a terrible Toronto team play this year and subconsciously committed their logo to whatever memory he has left - how could anyone possibly care? It's not like these two brands effect each other in any way, shape, or form. In fact, with the amount of people rocking fitted hats - representing teams with whom they have no connection whatsoever - a loose affiliation with a popular American rapper, actor, and entrepreneur can only boost merchandise revenue. It's not like anyone is giving up their season tickets because they just realized a maple leaf has close to the same amount of spokes as a marijuana leaf. No one is picketing outside the arena because a bunch of stoners in Colorado are walking around in their own personal cloud of smoke. Weed is big business now, and anytime one big business can accidentally associate with another big business - that has a vastly different consumer base - it's good for both parties involved. So grab a seat and take a pull MLSE, because you're currently blowing everybody's buzz.