Call Omar Minaya!

So I was in the hospital today, visiting my wife and son, and I got a request for a cool beverage from the lobby vending machine. Like the dutiful husband that I am, I went to the first floor with a pocketful of coins and perused the selection. Coca-Cola. Milk Tea. Milk Coffee. Pocari Sweat. Oolong Tea. Mets Grapefruit Beverage. Fanta. Wait!

Mets Grapefruit Beverage by Kirin. What the *&%*?

I did a double take and found that the green and yellow can before me was not only called "Mets" but the logo for "Mets" is actually similar to the Mets' font. See for yourself. The "M" doesn't have the trademark hook at the end of it among other things, and the "e" is more of a continuous loop. The cross on the "t" is a bit shorter, but the "s" is a dead ringer.

There's got to be some kind of copyright infringement going on here. I'm pretty sure that Omar Minaya and the New York Metropolitans of Flushing, Queens don't have a working arrangement with Kirin, and whats more I'm sure that MLB would have a logo on the can if that were the case. While they're not "exactly" the same, it's kind of an intellectual property case isn't it? If the logo is so similar as to confuse consumers, it's out of bounds. I'm not a lawyer, but I'd be interested to hear the copyright law on something like this. I think the burden of proof is that you must show that consumers have "actually" been confused that the Kirin drink is affiliated with the baseball team. I was.

As you can see I bought the can and brought it home. I just cracked the can and.....tastes like Fresca. Second sip.....yeah, kind of like Fresca. What Mets' player reminds me of Fresca? Off the top of my head.....Paul Lo Duca. Nothing says refreshing grapefruit flavor like adultery. See you tomorrow.