‘Welcome to the D’ Slogan Could Cost Detroit Tigers Millions

DETROIT, MI — A West Bloomfield musician who claims he coined the phrase “Welcome to the D” in 2009 is suing the Detroit Tigers for potentially millions of dollars in a lawsuit that accuses the Major League Baseball team of stealing the slogan from him and using it at a 2010 promotional event at Comerica Park.

In a copyright infringement lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Mark Kassa said that he created the slogan to promote his band, Slight Return, and registered the catchphrase with the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office in 2009. Kassa is also host of the internet talk show, the “Welcome to the D Show” and owns a Welcome to the D apparel store.

The Tigers used the slogan at its “Welcome to the D” party to welcome Quicken Loans to downtown Detroit and handed out party favors that included T-shirts, lanyards and buttons carrying the slogan, according to the lawsuit.

Though Kassa is seeking unspecified damages, violators of trademark laws can face up to $1 million per violation. The T-shirts, lanyards and buttons could cost the Tigers $3 million, Birmingham lawyer Scott Yaldo, who filed the lawsuit, told the Detroit Free Press.

“He has the right to protect his originality and his brand, and that’s exactly what he is doing,” Yaldo said.

“Any inventor or author of a piece of work would do the same thing ... I think the Tigers knew or should have known about (the trademark’s) existence, and nonetheless used it to their benefit. It’s really offensive.”

It’s not the first time Kassa has sued.

A lawsuit he filed against Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau and Detroit Sports Commission, which used the slogan on banners and lamppost signs across Detroit to promote the 2012 MLB World Series and the 2015 USA Volleyball Open National Championships was dismissed last year by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Leitman.

According to Bloomberg Law, the lawsuit was dismissed because neither organization used the slogan for commerce and that use of the phrase constituted fair use because the phrase was being used “in its primary descriptive sense.”

The Free Press said the Tigers organization declined comment on the current lawsuit.

Image: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan