The inside story on Warner Bros, AFL negotiations over Tasmania Devils name
The AFL and entertainment giant Warner Bros went back and forth in negotiations over the use of the Tasmanian Devils name, as it turned out Google had the answer. This is how it played out.
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What’s in a name? Turns out there’s plenty, especially when it comes to commercial rights and trademarks.
So it came as a surprise to the AFL’s legal department that executives at movie giant Warner Bros — at least some of them — had no idea the Tasmanian Devil was actually a real, live animal from Tasmania.
They had to google it.
Warner Bros has owned the trademark to the Tassie Devil since 1984, through their Looney Tunes cartoon character Taz Devil, who was born in the 1950s as a foe for Buggs Bunny.
When the AFL came knocking for a peace deal over the name for its 19th team, Warner Bros immediately saw a red flag until it grasped the concept that the Tasmanian Devil was real and the name was being sought to support a footy team from its home state.
An AFL spokesperson said: “There were some in the company in the US who were unaware that the cartoon character that was created and first appeared in cartoons in 1954 was actually based on a real animal that was native to the island state of Tasmania way down in Australia.
“While kangaroos and koalas may be well known to Americans, the small but ferocious carnivore is less well-known.
“At least one had to google it to find the Tassie Devil character was inspired by a real life marsupial.”
At the launch of Tasmania’s long-awaited AFL club at six locations around the state on Monday night, the Devil image proudly formed the centerpiece as the club’s branding — on its logo, on the team jumper, and to appear on banding for future merchandise.
Tasmania Football Club chair Grant O’Brien said the hunt for the Devil was a battle worth fighting.
“Early days negotiating through the AFL with Warner Brothers was a bit tricky, but when it got to the point of them understanding the Tasmanian Devil is actually a real animal, things freed up,” O’Brien said.
“They understood why we were so keen to have our own animal represent the team.
“It went down to the wire and Kath McCann [TFC executive officer], god bless her, was riding it all the way until the weekend.
“But we were confident we’d get there and confident they’d cooperate, and in truth they were fantastic.”
The AFL first made contact with the company in 2021 and again in 2022 but it was the day after former CEO Gillon McLachlan announced the licence at North Hobart Oval last year that the process to use the name grew teeth.
“The day after the announcement, Warner Bros contacted the AFL legal team and said let’s get this done and said they were open to granting a licence for the team to use the trademark,” the AFL said.
“The discussions continued and it was eventually worked out that a co-existence deed was agreed that would see the team able to use the terms Tasmania Devils, Tassie Devils or Devils and Warner Bros agreed not to oppose the use of the trademarks and the Devils logo as long as it was associated with Australian Football.”
The deal was eventually signed off on 14 March 2023 and the Devils can be used on all branding pertaining to football.
That made the AFL was “extremely grateful” to Warner Bros for allowing the new team to use the trademark of one of its famous cartoon characters.
“The announcement of the 19th licence was something that resonated not just across Tasmania and Australian football but right across the world,” the AFL said.
“From the First Floor of the AFL where its legal department is based to the New York offices of Warner Bros and its legal team, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon thanked Warner Bros and said the company had been brilliant in its support of the team being able to use the name of the native Tasmanian animal.”
Like many kids, O’Brien watched Taz Devil as a young tacker and knew exactly what Warner Bros thought was its own creation.
“I grew up here understanding what a Tasmanian Devil was, but most of us grew up watching Warner Bros cartoons and seeing this thing spinning around,” O’Brien said.
“I get it, but the message I’d like to give is they’ve done the right thing by us, and they’ve done it in the right spirit.
“It’s a nice story on the way to getting the club to where it is.”
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