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Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Electronic Filing System. http://estta.uspto.gov ESTTA Tracking number: ESTTA1104197 Filing date: 12/24/2020 IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Proceeding 91245750 Party Defendant The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, Inc. Baseball Leagues, Inc. Correspondence MARY FRAN LOVE Address MUNCY, GEISSLER, OLDS & LOWE, P.C. 4000 LEGATO ROAD SUITE 310 FAIRFAX, VA 22033 UNITED STATES Primary Email: [email protected] Secondary Email(s): [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 202-247-7929 Submission Testimony For Defendant Filer's Name H. David Starr Filer's email [email protected] Signature /H. David Starr/ Date 12/24/2020 Attachments FOUNTAIN Trial Declaration with Exhibits.pdf(4239674 bytes ) IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ------------------------------------------------------- Portland Mavericks Baseball Club, Inc., ) Opposition No. 91245750 [Parent] ) Opposition No. 91245751 Opposer, ) ) DECLARATION OF v. ) ROBERT FOUNTAIN ) The National Association of ) Professional Baseball Leagues, Inc., ) ) Applicant. ) ) ------------------------------------------------------- I, Robert Fountain, declare that: 1. I was formerly employed by The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, Inc. (“Applicant”) from August 2010 through September 2020. My final position with Applicant was serving as its Deputy General Counsel. I make this Declaration based on my personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances stated below. 2. Applicant is non-profit trade association of professional baseball leagues and teams. It trades under the name Minor League Baseball. Applicant’s website is attached as Exhibit A from the following url: http://www.milb.com/milb/history/general_history.jsp. 3. Over the years, Applicant’s member baseball leagues have included both Major League Baseball-affiliated teams and independent-unaffiliated teams, especially at the lower classification levels. 4. Of specific relevance, the Portland Mavericks was an independent-unaffiliated baseball team that played in Applicant’s member league, the Northwest League from 1973 through 1977. The Northwest League continues to exist and be a member to this date. 5. Although an independent-unaffiliated team, I have always understood the Portland Mavericks to be a member club of Applicant, both directly and indirectly through the Northwest League. 6. As such, given the direct and indirect affiliation of the Portland Mavericks with Applicant, I strongly dispute any contention that any of my statements in filings in the USPTO were anything but true. Further, all of my statements made on information and belief were believed to be true. 7. Furthermore, I did not have any knowledge of the Opposer at the time I filed any of the Portland Mavericks applications. To the best of my recollection, the first time I learned of Opposer’s existence was at the time its oppositions were filed. 8. I have reviewed the Declaration of Bill Stewart, dated October 28, 2020, submitted by the Opposer in this matter. 9. Mr. Stewart’s Declaration refers to the June 2017 letter I sent to him upon learning of their unlicensed use of PORTLAND MAVERICKS. We had filed the subject applications and two additional Class 25 applications in April 2017. As such, the PORTLAND MAVERICKS marks were the subject of applications for federal registration. 10. The letter also refers to the inclusion of the PORTLAND MAVERICKS trademark in Applicant’s Hometown Collection, which Applicant refers to on its website as: The Minor League Baseball Hometown Collection celebrates the rich, colorful heritage of Minor League Baseball and the special place that the Minor Leagues occupy in our national culture. Embracing franchises both iconic and obscure, Hometown Collection products span the globe from Havana to Hawaii, from Vancouver to Charleston, as well as dozens of points in between, from the days of flannel uniforms to the present time. https://milbstore.com/collections/hometown-collection?page=2&sort_by=title-ascending (visited December 14, 2020). True and correct printouts showing PORTLAND MAVERICKS apparel currently sold at Applicant’s online store are submitted herewith as Exhibit B. 11. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Stewart has not previously communicated any concerns with the signed letter agreement to Applicant and, to my knowledge, has not initiated any litigation to void the letter agreement. 12. Although it would have been more clear in my letter to state that that the Portland Mavericks trademarks are the subject of applications for trademark registrations, I dispute the contention that my letter contains “material misrepresentations” as our assertion of trademark rights was based upon the historical relationship of the marks with Applicant as well as Applicant’s ongoing licensing program. 13. I have reviewed the Declaration of Dustin Alameda, dated October 29, 2020, submitted by the Opposer in this proceeding. 14. Although Applicant is engaged in other USPTO proceedings with Mr. Alameda’s company, these proceedings have no bearing on the present proceedings with Opposer. 15. Mr. Alameda contends that I “threatened” him in a phone call. I certainly never threatened him personally. I merely communicated to Mr. Alameda that Applicant has certain rights and potential remedies and sought to work towards an amicable resolution with his company 503 Sports. The signatory being warned that willful false statements and the like are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under 18 U.S.C. 1001, declares that all statements made of his own knowledge are true and all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true. Executed on December 18, 2020 at Valrico, Florida. _________________________ Robert Fountain EXHIBIT “A” 4/2/2020 General History | MiLB.com History | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball THE OFFICIAL SITE OF MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Search Register Login SCORES STATS STANDINGS SCHEDULE MILB.TV NEWS EVENTS INFO TICKETS SHOP MOBILE FANS TEAMS & LEAGUES Official Info General History Jobs MiLB History Home This Day in MiLB History Top 100 Teams Timeline Award winners Presidents General History The History & Function of Minor League Baseball Alumni The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, now Green Team known as Minor League Baseball, was formed Sept. 5, 1901, from Licensing a meeting of Minor League executives at the Leland Hotel in Chicago. The President of the Eastern League, Patrick T. Powers, Sponsorship was elected as the first President of the NAPBL. Fourteen leagues Charity partners and 96 clubs were members during the first season in 1902. The first NA office was established in Auburn, New York, under Umpires President Powers and successfully run by Secretary-Treasurer MiLB Office John H. Farrell. By the time Powers left office in 1909, there were 35 leagues and 246 clubs. Publications In 1910, Michael Sexton became President. In his first few years, Help Center wars between the Major Leagues and the outlaw Federal League hurt Minor League Baseball. The Federal League raided top Minor League Baseball teams, as well as National and American League teams, for players and territory. Sexton led a fight at the 1914 Baseball Winter Meetings to ward off a bid from radicals for Minor Jackie Robinson played for the Montreal Royals, League Baseball to desert the Major Leagues and back the a Dodgers farm team, before he integrated the Federal League. For 22 years, Sexton presided over Minor Major Leagues. (AP) League Baseball, leaving at the height of the Depression in 1932. But during his time, peace was restored and the Minor Leagues began to flourish. At the Winter Meetings of 1932, Judge William G. Bramham was elected President and served for 15 years. Bramham, who moved the NAPBL office to Durham, North Carolina, inherited 14 leagues and 102 clubs, but turned over 52 leagues and 388 clubs to George M. Trautman in 1947. During the height of World War II in 1943, the National Association had only 66 clubs and drew less than six million fans, an all-time low. But the end of the war would see fans again crowding into the ballparks in record numbers. Trautman moved the office to Columbus, Ohio, as he began a 16-year reign as President. The year 1949 saw 59 leagues and 448 clubs, both all-time highs, attract 39,640,443 fans, a record that stood for 54 years. However, the advent of television and, in Trautman's last two years, Major League expansion, would begin to cut into attendance. Following Trautman's death in March 1963, Frank Shaughnessy served as interim president until Trautman's assistant, Phillip Piton, was elected in December 1963. There were 20 leagues and 132 clubs in 1964 and attendance was only 10 million. By the time Piton left office in 1971, membership was back to 155 clubs. With the election of Henry J. Peters as President in December 1971, the NA was headed for another move. In September 1973, the office found its fourth home on Fourth Street South in St. Petersburg, Florida. Peters left in 1975 to become General Manager of the Baltimore Orioles. Robert R. "Bobby" Bragan SALE became President in January 1976, and by 1978 there were 158 clubs. On March 28, 1978, the office moved five blocks to $159.99 Bayshore Drive into the old clubhouse beside Al Lang Stadium, which was renovated and turned into an office building. HP OceJet Pro 9015 Wireless Color Inkjet In January 1979, John H. Johnson took office. While the number All-In-One Printer of clubs stayed near 160-170, attendance skyrocketed. In 1987, Save $70/Reg $229.99 more than 20 million fans attended games, a figure not matched since 1953. Franchise values also went up dramatically during Johnson's time. Johnson died January 12, 1988, and Sal B. Artiaga was elected in April as the ninth President. His first year in office saw Minor League Baseball climb to over 21,659,000 in Order online.