The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up an appeal by Roberto Clemente’s children against the Government of Puerto Rico over the use of the ballplayer’s image on 2022 commemorative license plates and marbetes, the windshield stickers that accompany them, Reuters reported. The Supreme Court docket confirms that the petition for certiorari in Clemente Properties, Inc. v.
Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia was denied on November 9, after the matter was discussed in three conferences of the justices since October. In January, the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston revived the family’s claims for trademark infringement, false association and trademark dilution against the officials sued in their personal capacity, and that component returned to the federal court in San Juan.
The First Circuit did dismiss the claims against the government and its agencies, which are protected by sovereign immunity, and the argument that the use of the mark amounted to an expropriation under the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. That was the claim the children took to the Supreme Court. The suit was filed by Roberto Clemente Jr., Luis Roberto Clemente and Roberto Enrique Clemente, along with two companies they own that protect the Roberto Clemente brand.
The family sought $45 million in damages and $3.15 million for trademark infringement, and alleges the use of the image generated about $15 million for the government. The plates and marbetes stemmed from measures approved by the Legislature in 2021, marking 50 years since Clemente’s 3,000th hit.