It’s impossible to stop the Eagles from gaining a yard with their quarterback push play. It’s apparently not impossible to stop them from getting the trademark for one of the terms used to describe the play.
Via John George of the Philadelphia Business Journal, the Eagles face competition for the legal rights to “Brotherly Shove.”
The Eagles filed a trademark application on October 10. Two others have filed applications as well: Inspired Synergy of Brigantine, New Jersey and Lawrence Caplan of Boca Raton, Florida.
The Eagles hope to secure the rights to the phrase for “merchandise including shirts, jackets, jerseys and hats.”
All three applications are currently under review by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Whether the rule allowing the play ends up under review by the league remains to be seen. For now, it’s fair game. And only the Eagles have perfected it.
As recently explained on PFT Live, if the play is sticking around, other teams need to scout and develop offensive players who can make it work — and defensive players who can stop it. For now, the Eagles are the one team that has shortened the stick from 10 yards to nine or even eight.