‘White Lotus’ and Duke University: RPJ’s Daniel Ain Speculates on Potential IP Claims

Last week, RPJ’s Daniel Ain was featured by Law360 in an article addressing the recent controversy surrounding the use of Duke University apparel in HBO’s hit series White Lotus. In the current third season of the dark comedy one of the main characters, a Duke graduate, fears he may be incriminated for a money laundering scheme and considers taking his own life while wearing a Duke T-shirt.

Officials from the university have spoken out against the use of Duke’s branding in the show, stating HBO did so without permission. The concern for the university being that the use of their trademark appearing in this context insinuates an endorsement or affiliation with the themes portrayed. At this time, no lawsuit has been filed by the university against HBO.

Whether HBO could be liable for trademark infringement primarily hinges upon whether the use of the trademark held expressive value in the context in which it was used, and whether or not it could have misled consumers. With respect to this, Daniel Ain told Law360, “Duke seems to suggest in its statement that HBO’s use of the Duke logo might cross into the territory of trademark infringement […] However, it is unlikely that it does. My reaction to watching these fictional North Carolinian characters sport Duke apparel has been ‘good job by wardrobe,’ and I have not thought for a minute that there is any affiliation between the university and HBO.”

Read the full Law360 article here.