The owl of the Superb Owl Night Run with co-organizers Tricia Schafer (left) and Johnny Lookabaugh (right).

The owl of the Superb Owl Night Run with co-organizers Tricia Schafer (left) and Johnny Lookabaugh (right).

You may recall how back in January I predicted a particular legal outcome. A recent contrary result demonstrates why writing rather than lawyer-predicting was a better career course-correction for me.

Back in January, I chuckled over an annual fundraising race called the Superb Owl. Hosted around the time of the Super Bowl, the organizers—and I—thought the charming diction would help the Owl fly beneath the radar of The Big Game’s organizers.

Owls aren't the only wise creature when it comes to avoiding trademark trouble. A lawyers group avoids Super Bowl with their Superb Owl 5K.

Superb? Yes? Super? That question is headed toward litigation.

No so fast.

As we see in last week’s story, the NFL has filed a trademark objection about the race, co-organized by attorney Tricia Schafer. The race is a 5K called the Superb Owl Shuffle. But the website is named www.superbowlshuffle.org. So you see the problem.

As the Superb Owl would probably say, Who who who would have guessed the NFL would be prickly about its trademarks? Who would have predicted that such a smile-inducing name would ruffle feathers?

Not this guy, clearly. Happy running.