A North Carolina charter school’s battle over the rights to a dance team’s name reached the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday, where a legal showdown over branding, alleged deception, and competitive rivalry played out like a high-stakes sports drama.
In an appeal seeking to overturn a lower court’s refusal to grant an injunction, attorneys for Mountain Island Day Community Charter School—operating under Jackson Day School—argued that two former teachers, Megan May and Lisa Lewis, effectively hijacked its “Inspire Dance Team” brand. The school claims they used photos and videos of Jackson Day’s dancers to misleadingly promote their newly formed rival team, Inspire Performing Arts Co., luring parents into a false impression.
Baseball, Branding, and a Courtroom Showdown
During oral arguments, Jonathan Vogel of Vogel Law Firm PLLC, representing Jackson Day, invoked baseball’s greatest rivalry to paint a stark picture of the alleged deception.
“I don’t know if your honors are baseball fans, but imagine if the Los Angeles Dodgers advertised using pictures of New York Yankees players, claiming, ‘Come see our team!’ That would be absurd,” Vogel told the three-judge panel.
