Want to use the letter W? You'll have to run it by MLB first.
Want to use the letter W? You'll have to run it by MLB first. (Getty)

We all love baseball, that's why I'm writing about it and you're reading about it, and it can be easy to forget Major League Baseball and the 30 clubs are for-profit businesses. And for-profit businesses do what they have to do to protect their intellectual property, even if it borders on absurd.

For example, MLB is currently locked in a trademark dispute with the finance website WalletHub over one of the website's logos, according to Steven Overly of the Washington Post. The logo: a block type letter W. That's it. Here is the WalletHub logo in question:

MLB asserts the WalletHub logo bears a strong resemblance to W logos trademarked by the Cubs and Nationals. The Cubs have a W trademark for a logo used on the flag that flies over Wrigley Field after the team wins (top photo), and the Nationals have a W trademark dating back to the Washington Senators days, when the letter was on the team's jersey:

(Photo via SeamHeads.com)

“We have been engaging in conversations with Evolution Finance about how its mark can be used and registered so as to avoid confusion with the MLB marks. We believe we are close to a resolution and are interested in resolving this matter amicably,” said league spokesman Matt Bourne to Overly. MLB is concerned fans will associate WalletHub with the Cubs and Nats, basically.

Meanwhile, S. Lloyd Smith, an attorney who represents Evolution Finance and WalletHub, told Overly "it is common for trademark owners to sometimes overreach in protecting their marks. They’re always concerned or cautious that if they don’t enforce their marks they might lose their rights ... The real question is why does MLB care? They don’t own the letter W. There’s lots of other Ws out there. They’re just plainly overreaching in this case.”

According to Overly, there are over 1,000 trademarks for the letter W. I'm sure some are green like WalletHub's, and I'm sure others look like the logos trademarked by the Cubs and Nationals/Senators. It seems like such a silly dispute, but MLB has been in a legal battle with Evolution Finance for two years now.

Hey, I get it, businesses have to protect their trademarks. It just seems so petty that MLB is haggling with this small company over the letter W. I have a really tough time thinking anyone could see the WalletHub logo and associate it with MLB.