Pepperdine University announced a trademark infringement Thursday against Netflix and Warner Bros. over the upcoming Mindy Kaling-produced show Running Point.
The school accuses the show of “misappropriation of the university’s brand” with the logo for a fictional Los Angeles-based basketball team, The Waves. Kaling is not named as a defendant in the suit.
In a statement, the Christian university in Malibu says the logo in the show “bears a striking resemblance in branding to Pepperdine’s longstanding and well-known Waves athletics program. The series prominently features a team name, colors, and other indicia that are identical or highly similar to Pepperdine’s, as well as the number ’37’, which is closely associated with the university’s history and mascot.”
The religious school also shared “deep concerns 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.”
The school claims it made multiple attempts to solve the issue amicably, but Netflix and Warner Bros. “have refused to take any remediating action.”
Running Point, created by Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen, stars Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon, who is appointed the new president of the Los Angeles Waves, a professional basketball team owned by her family.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.