A judge Wednesday denied Pepperdine University’s bid to stop Netflix from broadcasting parts of its new sports comedy series “Running Point,” which the college claims infringes on its basketball team’s copyrights.
The series starring Kate Hudson is supposedly loosely based on the real life of Lakers owner Jeanie Buss. It debuts Thursday on Netflix.
Pepperdine sued Netflix and Warner Bros. last week for trademark infringement, alleging in Los Angeles federal court that the Mindy Kaling series uses elements that intentionally resemble the university’s actual basketball team.
In the suit, Pepperdine dubs “Running Point” a “raunchy” comedy that promotes themes that don’t correspond to the university’s values, including alcohol and substance use, sexual innuendo and imagery and foul language.
Pepperdine alleges that Netflix and Warner Bros. “misappropriated” registered trademarks belonging to the Malibu university, whose NCAA basketball team is named the Waves — the same name as the team in the series.
The university also argues that the show borrows its team’s colors, orange and blue, and uses player’s number 37, the number worn by Pepperdine’s mascot and that is associated with the year the university was founded, 1937.
With a judge denying a temporary restraining order, Pepperdine University can still pursue a request for a preliminary injunction.
The complaint seeks damages for the alleged infringement and harm caused by the misappropriation of the university’s brand.
“Since its founding in 1937, Pepperdine University has established itself as a Christian University committed to academic excellence and a world-class athletics program,” Sean Burnett, Pepperdine University senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a statement last week.
He said the university believes it necessary to seek court intervention due to the “flagrant disregard for our intellectual property and the damage to our institutional identity, together with Netflix’s and Warner Bros.’ continued refusal to resolve Pepperdine’s concerns.”
According to the complaint, “Running Point’s” portrayal of the “Waves” team will cause consumer confusion and falsely suggest an affiliation between Pepperdine and the show.
Burnett said the university has also expressed concern about some of the series’ themes, which include explicit content, substance use, nudity, and profanity — elements that are “inconsistent with Pepperdine’s Christian values and reputation.”