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Oral arguments have just closed in the American Needle vs. NFL case. Lawyers from both sides spoke to reporters and answered questions about their presentation and the case in a news conference on the courthouse steps outside the Supreme Court in Washington DC.
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And we just uploaded the transcript of the oral arguments to DocStoc for those of you who want to read the details as presented by the two sides. (Click on the FULL SCREEN button to enlarge it for easier navigation – hit the ESC key to close. You can also click the DOWNLOAD button to save a PDF copy for printing and reading. There’s also a Menu button in the upper left corner with even more options.)
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Transcript of American Needle vs. NFL Supreme Court Hearing –
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The Supreme Court is hearing a major business case this week that debates the extent of its so-called “limited” antitrust exemption. The case is American Needle vs. NFL and if you’re like most of us, it’s hard to understand the details and importance of what ruling might come out of this case. A small clothing manufacturer – American Needle – was kicked to the curb when they lost their license to manufacture caps and jackets with NFL team logos. Reebok – a subsidiary of global athletic wear manufacturer Adidas – currently has the world rights to manufacture any and all licensed NFL wear and oversees a $3.2 billion+ market (2007) from selling NFL gear exclusively.

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