A New Lis on Life

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has dismissed a case brought by Michael Messier, who claims to be a direct descendant of the Kings of France and that he and his family own the intellectual property rights to the Fleur-de-Lis, demanding that its use as a service mark by the NFL’s New Orleans Saints be cancelled and to allow him to negotiate the use of it by not just the Saints but many other dozens of businesses that employ the Fleur-de-Lis in some form or another.