Old USFL exec: new league doesn't own rights

A former exec from the old USFL claims that the defunct league "still has the rights to its name and logos," despite yesterday's announcement that the USFL will be relaunching next spring. The new USFL is "using the old USFL’s logo and claims to have retained the rights to key original team names," and it "already has created a website, which boasts that USFL merchandise." But Steve Ehrhart, who was the USFL’s Exec Dir in its final season, said that the old league "retained the rights to the USFL name" after an ’86 legal battle with the NFL. He said that league officials also "licensed the rights to the team logos and still even get a royalty check every month." Erhart said of yesterday's USFL announcement, “I was surprised when I heard about it. ... I want to dig into it and see who they’re claiming they acquired these rights (to the name) from. Because it didn’t come from any legitimate source" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 6/4).