Similarities to Waits v. Frito-Lay, Midler v. Ford in Johnny Case estate lawsuit against Coca-Cola?

A lawsuit was filed in December 2025 by the Johnny Cash estate against Coca-Cola under the recently amended Tennessee Right of Publicity statute. Johnny Case Estate v. Coca-Cola in Tennessee

How similar is the complaint to Midler? Bette Midler v. Ford Motor Company

How similar is the complaint to Waits? Tom Waits v. Frito-Lay

And see: San Diego jury awards nearly $20M to Hubert Hansent Trust

Athletes seeking trademarks for catch phrases

ESPN just published an interesting article that surveys a range of athletes seeking trademark registrations on catch phrases or other aspects of identity.  It’s a valuable brand-building step and it has it’s place as a compliment to the Right of Publicity.  What the article does not touch on, the elephant in the room, is the question of actual use.  Sure, Robert Griffin can apply for “unbelievably believable” but show me the use in commerce.  Some athletes obviously will satisfy the use component, but my guess is that the majority of these applications will fall into abandonment, or even fail to to reach registration.