March Trademark Risks for Small Businesses

Across Ohio and Arkansas, excitement is building as the Buckeyes, Redhawks, Zips, Raiders, and Razorbacks prepare to tip off in the 2026 NCAA basketball tournaments.

However, businesses should be wary in using certain basketball-related phrases in their advertising. Terms like “Elite Eight” or “March Madness” are registered trademarks by the NCAA, and using them in promotions for “March Madness Sales” or similar advertising can be considered trademark infringement.

Guidance from the NCAA is clear:

Federal intellectual property laws support the NCAA’s efforts to prohibit the unauthorized use of the NCAA’s name and trademarks (including, but not limited to, FINAL FOUR® and MARCH MADNESS®). These regulations also prohibit any use of NCAA championship tickets in sweepstakes, promotions or contests, or any other unfair attempt to associate with or exploit the goodwill of any NCAA championship event. This includes a prohibition against the display of any commercial identification within an NCAA championship bracket.

For example, instead of advertising a sale for “March Madness”, companies could use more generic language to refer to basketball, brackets, or hoops.

So enjoy the games this March - but don’t imply that you have any connection with the tournaments.