Muhammad Ali Enterprises, LLC ("MAE"), the company that owns the intellectual property rights of former Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali, sued Fox Broadcasting Company ("Fox") in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Illinois, for using Ali's likeness in a Super Bowl commercial without the company's permission.
MAE, which is owned by Authentic Brands Group and the Muhammad Ali Family Trust, alleged that a three minute ad that featured images of Ali and audio of him shouting "I am the Greatest!" was juxtaposed with images of past Super Bowl stars whose greatness was equated to Ali's. MAE further alleges that the images of Ali were used by FOX without MAE's permission.
The audience for the Super Bowl was alleged to have reached over 111 million viewers and MAE claims that Fox could have sold that advertising time for a total of $30 Million.
MAE alleges two different causes of action, a Federal Lanham Act claim for False Endorsement, as well as a Right of Publicity claim brought under an Illinois state statute.
See the complaint below:
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