Pepperdine University sued Netflix and Warner Bros. over a new sitcom that features a fictional Los Angeles basketball franchise whose branding resembles Pepperdine’s NCAA Division I team, the Waves.
The school—which is affiliated with the Churches of Christ and is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities—claimed trademark infringement and argued that the show’s messaging runs counter to Pepperdine’s values and reputation.
“Without our permission, Netflix continues to promote Running Point, a new series that has misappropriated our trademarked name, the Waves, our colors, blue and orange, our hometown of Los Angeles, and even the year we were founded as an institution,” said Sean Burnett, Pepperdine’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
Created by Mindy Kaling and premiering on the streaming service this Thursday, Running Point stars Kate Hudson as the new owner of the Waves, with Chet Hanks, Brenda Song, and Max Greenfield in the supporting cast.
According to the lawsuit, filed February 20 in US District Court in California, the logo and branding for the show’s team is too close to Pepperdine’s.
“Defendants’ ‘Waves’ share the exact same name, use strikingly similar branding, have the exact same color combinations (blue, orange and white), promote the player number of Pepperdine’s well-known mascot and year of the university’s founding (37), and are in the same city, along with several other similarities,” the lawsuit said.
The university, located in Malibu, 29 miles from downtown LA, has a trademark on the mark WAVES that it uses for athletic gear, marketing, sports facilities, and other public displays, the suit said.
Pepperdine has used the Waves as its team name since the beginning; the university’s first president recommended it as a way to differentiate Pepperdine’s teams from others with animals as mascots. The school adopted blue and orange as its colors to represent the Pacific Ocean and the state of California.
Its NCAA athletic program includes eight men’s and nine women’s Division I teams, including its basketball teams. The men’s basketball program at Pepperdine has competed 13 times in the NCAA tournament and has sent 18 alumni to play professionally in the NBA.
Pepperdine said in its filing last week that its reputation will be “irreparably harmed” by the use of its trademarked logos and branding in Running Point because of the show’s foul language, sexually explicit content, references to alcohol and illegal substances, and violent altercations. (The show carries a TV-MA rating.) The suit also references a clip from the trailer that shows Hudson’s character posing topless with a pair of basketballs.
These messages and images run counter to Pepperdine’s Christian values and would hinder its ability to pursue its mission and recruit students, faculty, and athletes, the suit said.
Staff from the university attempted to contact Netflix and Warner Bros. through phone calls, email correspondence, and a cease-and-desist letter but were not able to reach a satisfactory agreement, the suit said.
Spokespersons for Netflix and Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Christianity Today.
Pepperdine is seeking injunctive relief that would prevent Netflix and Warner Bros. from using its trademarks or any other marks that are “confusingly similar” to Pepperdine’s in Running Point.
