Does Barry Really 'Own' The US Open Name?

watchez

watchez

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Does Barry Behrman really own the US Open name? Has anyone (jay, sjm, Roberta) seen the paperwork that shows he legally has rights to the name?

I am just thinking that as bumbling as he is and disorganized, I wouldn't find it all impossible that he just says the name is his but is it really?
 
no idea, but the guy was honest for about 25 years, went through some trouble and ruined his reputation and name. whatever caused his downfall it should obviously be seen that he sells the name.
 
Funny thing today I was wondering what it is actually worth if someone wanted to purchase it from him.
 
I believe the answer is yes --- Barry owns the US Open 9-ball name. Similarly, I believe that CSI owns the US Open 10-ball name.
 
watchez said:
Does Barry Behrman really own the US Open name? Has anyone (jay, sjm, Roberta) seen the paperwork that shows he legally has rights to the name?

I am just thinking that as bumbling as he is and disorganized, I wouldn't find it all impossible that he just says the name is his but is it really?
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I believe issues like this are like common law marriage , it becomes a legal partnership after so many years after so years . Two pizza joints in NYC had the same name , a judge gave the one who used it first the sole legal right to use it .
 
Funny thing today I was wondering what it is actually worth if someone wanted to purchase it from him.
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Unfortunately for Barry, probably not as much as he would like to believe it is.

If someone were to take the Open over, obviously it would be an advantage to own the name, but as Joey mentioned, a person could just change the name slightly.

Some names are best kept with a business that is sold.

Might not be the case with the Open.

Barry could say that it is worth 500K. If the Open can't be turned around to realize even a bit of profit, then the name isn't worth the paper and ink used to write it.

One thing almost guaranteed is that Barry will continue with his yearly Monkey Shines until no one will show up to enter and or watch.
 
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Just let it die and play 10 ball. Maybe have 2 10 ball opens per year.......east coast and west coast. I think it could work out great. Then after the two are over...bring back the top 8 and have a king of the hill tournament. Anything would be better than all of the drama that's happening with the 9 ball open.
 
names can be tricky

Could probably call an event The North American Nine Ball Championship with no issues. Call it US nine ball, USA nine ball, or use Open in the title of an event of the same scope as the US Open and legally you are on shaky ground or worse off from the bit I know about such things. Barry does own the name and we prove it every time we just call it the Open or the US Open.

Barry owns the name. There is always the other issue though: Where do we find anyone or any group with solid business acumen but still insane enough to try to put on a major pool event year after year?

Men's pro pool has had far more chances than any other group I know of. Any time someone tries to put money into men's pool they get a first hand look at how men's professional pool operates. They take their money and leave.

I have a friend who is the head of a group of investors. We don't talk often, it's one of those friendships where we pick up where we left off however many years there may be in between. The last time we talked he and the group of investors wanted to open a business and have me run it. Looking at between a quarter million to a million plus start-up costs depending on scale, real estate, and other things; I didn't take it further because I wasn't interested. Suppose I go to this same group of investors and tell them that I want to run the Men's North American Nine Ball Championship each year with about $100,000 to $150,000 expenditure per year.

The head of that group has been one of the best business consultants in the gulf states for the last forty years and change. What can I produce to make them think they should return a reasonable profit considering the speculative nature of the investment?

As sad as the US Open has became the players should be glad that Barry isn't one of the world's great thinkers!

Hu
 
The trademark appears to have been abandoned.
 

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watchez said:
Does Barry Behrman really own the US Open name? Has anyone (jay, sjm, Roberta) seen the paperwork that shows he legally has rights to the name?

I am just thinking that as bumbling as he is and disorganized, I wouldn't find it all impossible that he just says the name is his but is it really?
Click to expand...

I'm certainly no lawyer, but I would think that since he's put on decades of titles with no challenges, then he owns the tournament title. Kinda like the idea that possession is 9/10ths of the law. Without any supporting evidence to show the contrary, he shouldn't need any documentation.
 
If you want to compete with the US Open you need to hold a higher-money event on the same days. Otherwise players will simply play in both events.

Either way, you'll run into the same problem BB has -- there's no money in the game/industry. We see the buffoonery, but the real problem is a contracting industry.

Odds are that BB owns the trademark to the US 9-ball Open. Obtaining a trademark is inexpensive and easy.
 
watchez said:
Does Barry Behrman really own the US Open name? Has anyone (jay, sjm, Roberta) seen the paperwork that shows he legally has rights to the name?

I am just thinking that as bumbling as he is and disorganized, I wouldn't find it all impossible that he just says the name is his but is it really?
Click to expand...

That's funny!
The angle I am getting is that Barry is a bumbling fool.

Well, I am willing to bet that Barry has an Ace up his sleeve.
I would not be surprised if he had a trademark (trade name) on the U.S. Open name.
If he does, he sure as hell has some collateral.

And if he does have rights to the name, he knows he has huge leverage in a pool
world that is shaky in terms of other long-standing U.S. tournaments (in this case,
a lack thereof).

I wouldn't consider Barry's "antics" anything other than overconfidence.
I wouldn't attribute it any foolishness either—he's no dummy I'm sure.

Watch and see. We might just see a transaction, merge, or some other reorganization
in which the U.S. Open plays a central part and Barry gets his huge PAYDAY.

That "... hundreds of thousand of dollars ..." Barry referred to in the video that was disseminated,
that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
 
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And who do you think may give Barry that Pay Day?

Like, someone might slip him a 5 at some point to go get a Popsicle to stay out of their face for a bit. I don't see any Huge Pay Day in store for a name that can be duplicated.

That "... hundreds of thousand of dollars ..." Barry referred to in the video that was disseminated,
that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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Not really as much as it was an attempt at Bad Timed Humor. As in, "Everyone knows that I make hundreds of thousands of dollars and then stiff the Players".

If there ever was a place for that crack, it wasn't at that time. The room fell silent and Scott's jaw dropped, trying to figure out what he should say next, if anything at all.

I'm sure Barry has angles and cards up his sleeve. So far, those angles weren't quite 90 degrees and he could have dealt himself a better hand. On several occasions.

In the future, Barry may be better off to put some Tarot Cards up his sleeve.

As us Flat Landers say out on the farm. "Hes so Crooked, he could sleep in a grain auger".
 
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The name of an event is trademarked upon use. A trademark is established upon first use in commerce whether or not it is federally registered. Given that there have been sanctioned qualifiers held all over the country it is safe to say that the US OPEN 9 Ball Championships brand is established and recognized as a trademark by common folks all over America.

In fact when the term US OPEN is used in pool conversation most think immediately of the US Open 9 Ball Championship and no other event.

Thus, Barry does in fact own the trademark.
 
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