A former Jets worker is suing the group and the NFL for unspecified damages over the Jets’ use of a brand he designed.
Jim Pons filed a go well with alleging he got here up with the design within the late 70s whereas he was working for the Jets because the group’s movie and video director, based on the lawsuit obtained by TMZ.
The brand in query is the one which includes a jet aircraft above the letters “E-T-S” that the group used starting in 1978 and was the AFC membership’s major brand up till 1997 after they modified course.
Pons claims within the go well with, based on TMZ, that he owns the emblem and that he got here up with the design outdoors the scope of his job when he was employed with the group.
The go well with asks for a choose to cancel the Jets’ trademark of the emblem and Pons desires a ruling that stops the soccer group from having the ability to use the design or promote merchandise with it on there with out his consent or compensation.
“We’re conscious of the criticism,” the Jets stated in a press release to The Publish. “The mark in query has been registered with the US Patent and Trademark Workplace for practically 50 years. The mark has been used repeatedly in quite a few iterations since that point. We discover this declare baseless and with out advantage.”
The Jets started utilizing that model of the emblem in 2023 twice for that season and earlier this 12 months they introduced that they might be returning to the design full-time for the upcoming season.
Pons spent practically three many years working for the Jets up till 2000 after beginning with the group in 1973, he stated in a promotional video he was featured in that had been launched in April.
The eight-minute video options Pons narrating how he got here up with the design and his expertise working for the group.
“I assumed it will be good to simply have the identify and it type of transferring in a route. After which I began playing around with it and tilting the letters after which I assumed a jet aircraft on the highest of this may look fairly cool,” Pons stated within the video about arising with the design. “I fooled round with it for a number of days and it began to return into fruition and it began to look fairly good. And I gave it to them they usually preferred it they usually used it. They took it and the following factor I knew it was the emblem.”
The Jets introduced on April 15 that it will debut new jerseys and a return to the emblem in a “nod to the Sack Change period.”
Within the video launched the next day, Pons stated the group had alerted him that it was returning to the emblem he designed and stated that it made him really feel “good” over the recognition of the design.
