Can Media Be Held Liable For Assisting In Sponsorship Ambush?
We've seen legal action proposed and taken against ambushers, but USAA just filed a lawsuit against a paper that it says facilitated an ambush attempt of its 10 year Army-Navy game presenting sponsorship. It claims the Military Times, owned by Gannett, helped pass off Navy Federal Credit Union as game sponsor.
“Just like the NFL protects the Super Bowl from those who are not official sponsors, USAA needed to protect the Army-Navy Game from those who are not official sponsors,” USAA spokesman Roger Wildermuth told the paper.
Just earlier this week, the USOC held an ambush panel aimed at educating Congress on the practice ahead of the Olympics and it's not unusual to see competitors of official sponsors align with the media's coverage of an event. The paper, the San Antonio Express-News reports, offered coverage of the game "presented by the Navy Federal Credit Union." This will definitely be a case to keep an eye on. We'll bring you more details.
