A similar suit was brought against Nike when they claimed Tiger was using a golf ball that they sold but he was really using a ball that couldn't be purchased. The plaintiffs won that case and Nike eventually released the special Tiger-only ball for public consumption.
People have wondered when this would happen in tennis for a while. Frankly, with the Nike-Tiger case on the books the racquet companies have been walking on thin ice with their paintjob shenanigans and they know it. It will be interesting to see if this case goes anywhere. The key will be proving that Federer currently uses an older model under a new paintjob. They must have some evidence of this otherwise I don't think they would take it to court. It would be cool if they bring sawed open racquets and stuff into the court room.
A possible outcome of this could be that Wilson will start selling Federer's actual racquet again. (Again, because many people feel that the K90 was, in fact, the frame that he really uses. When they brought out the K version they were responding to some public outcry that players couldn't buy Fed's real racquet. So they said, well, here you go. Then, with the BLX, they changed the layup completely - removing kevlar and adding basalt.)
The Woods' case was substantially different in that they claimed he used a retail ball but in fact used one which was not available to the public.
Then she should pay $20,000+ at an auction for one of Federer's ACTUAL racquets that he used in competition. Anything else will never really be "Federer's racquet".
I don't think that really means very much. Even I call them "Federer's racquet" or "Nadal's racquet" even though I know they don't actually use that exact racquet because it's just an easy way to describe those racquets.
Did you also buy Wheaties thinking that the picture of Michael Phelps on the box meant that if you ate Wheaties every day that you were guaranteed to win at least a dozen gold medals in the next Olympics? :lol:
However, there is no law that says a manufacturer can't give several similar racquets the same retail marketing name. Wilson can make 5 different "Pro Staff Six One 90" racquets - one of which they give to Federer to use and another of which they send to retail stores. Internally, they are given specific model codes but externally, they are all known as "Pro Staff Six One 90". Thus, Wilson could claim that they are telling the truth when they state that Federer uses a "Pro Staff Six One 90", because in fact, he is. It's just that his version of the "Pro Staff Six One 90" is not exactly the same as the version of the "Pro Staff Six One 90" that is sold in retail stores.
What "premium"? The Wilson Steam 99S, Blade 93, PS Six-One 95, Steam 105S, Blade 98, Blade 104, PS Six-One 100L, etc. are all the same price as the PS Six-One 90 at $199 so you are not paying any premium over another racquet that Federer is obviously NOT using.
That's a bad example. You can easily prove that a red Hyundai is inferior to a red Ferrari in performance. Can you prove that the retail Pro Staff Six-One 90 is inferior in performance to the racquet that Federer actually uses?
what about this analogy...
. I bought a blx tour limited (Based on Justine Hennin and Kei Nishikori supposedly using them). . Wouldve saved me grief if I'd have known about the concept of paint jobs...
what about this analogy...
This claim is way off the mark. Under many moral systems the apparent deception here is the absolute norm so far as business is concerned. In fact it wouldn't even raise an eyebrow in China and most of Asia - especially South East Asia. Their moral compasses are busted by true ethical standards when it comes to business/marketing.
For a start, there's no way of knowing what you claim short of getting one of his frames and cutting it open. To my knowledge no-one who's secured one of his frames has done that - so claiming it is potentially a dead end argument.
Yes. Because, at least in the US, you can playtest any racquet you want. Our hosts TW make it incredibly easy. Forget the marketing - do you homework and you'll never have a problem.
Yes, it is the point. Take care of yourself.
