February 27, 2020 Baseball / Litigation / MLB

The Tail of the Phillie Phanatic – The Hidden Underbelly of the New-Look Mascot

As reported by the Philadelphia Phillies, “[h]e has evolved, but clearly hasn’t matured.”

This week, the Phillies unveiled their new-look mascot… who received little more than a touch-up. As discovered at the Phillies’ spring training home opener, the infamous Phillie Phanatic arrived with new feathers, stars outlining the eyes, an enlarged backside, and a brand new powder-blue tail, among other minor detail changes.

Most casual fans will hardly notice a difference, and even die-hard Phillies fans are split; some prefer the traditional style, while others …

October 16, 2019 Baseball / Contract / Copyright / Litigation / MLB / Trademark

Phillie Phanatic Creators Fire Back with New Filing

Wade Harrison and Bonnie Erickson, credited with designing the Philadelphia Phillies’ mascot, the Phanatic, have filed a reply to a lawsuit alleging that the creators were threatening the baseball club with pulling the team’s rights to use the mascot. The creators have described the lawsuit by the Phillies as a “weapon.”

At issue is whether the creators of the Phanatic can use the Copyright Act’s termination right – a rule made to allow authors to regain control over works they created, but signed away. The …

City of Phanatic Love: Phillies Face Lawsuit Over Beloved Mascot

He’s green, a little mean, and often obscene – it’s the mascot everyone loves to hate, the infamous Phillie Phanatic. After the filing of a new federal lawsuit, however, there’s an ominous question looming of whether the 41-year-old relationship will continue in the city of brotherly love.

Back on August 2, 2019, the Philadelphia Phillies filed a copyright lawsuit in federal court against Harrison/Erickson, Inc. (H/E) over the future use of the Phanatic as a mascot. Reportedly, H/E asserts that its primary members, Bonnie and …