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Federal judge denies NCAA’s restraining order request to make DraftKings stop using ‘March Madness’

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday denied the NCAA’s motion for a temporary restraining order to stop DraftKings from using registered trademarks associated with its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

The complaint for trademark infringement, filed in the Southern District of Indiana last week, requested that DraftKings stop using “March Madness,” “Final Four,” “Elite Eight” and “Sweet Sixteen” and variations of those terms to promote its business.

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled the NCAA did not show how the online sports wagering platform’s use of the terms would cause irreparable harm.

“With further discovery the NCAA may be able to show they are entitled to a preliminary or permanent injunction, and those claims remain pending,” Pratt wrote.

DraftKings has been using “March Madness” and other familiar terms to refer to the NCAA Tournament for more than five years and has the legal right to do so, the sportsbook said in a court filing Wednesday in response to a complaint filed by the NCAA last week.

The NCAA has said it actively avoids any appearance of affiliation with gambling and said in the complaint that DraftKings’ use of the terms confuses customers by making it appear the NCAA is on board.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Edwards, Makeer power South Carolina past TCU 78-52 to reach the Final Four

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Dawn Staley and South Carolina are back in a familiar place — the Final Four. Joyce Edwards scored 24 points and Agot Makeer added 18 to help the Gamecocks beat TCU 78-52 on Monday night to advance to the national semifinals in the women's NCAA Tournament. South Carolina (34-3) has now reached the Final Four in six straight years and won two national championships during that stretch. Staley has been at the helm for all of them, including the undefeated 2023-24 season. “Super proud of this team, a lot of unknowns coming into the season. Our ranking and what people thought of us was off our history,” Staley said. “We had too many holes, but I’m happy we were able to fill them and compete on the third weekend of the NCAA Tournament.”
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