Raiders Sue Nations Over Raider Nation

You would think Raiders and Nations, two Oakland greats, would make a great team. Turns out, that's not the case.

Two Oakland icons are in the middle of a legal dispute. One has the name Raiders. The other has the name Nation's Giant Hamburgers.

Many of you know that "Raider Nation" is also a phrase around these parts, and apparently the Raiders doesn't want Nations to use it. Nations, although not as infamous as a football team, is among the top tier of burger joints (Think In-AND-Out, but in a diner setting).

The problem started with the debut of a billboard near the Coliseum that shows a cheeseburger and reads, "When Hunger Hits Raid a Nation's."

Clever right? A bit too clever, according to the Raiders.

The team claims the billboard implies that Nation’s has a partnership with the football franchise and they do not. They call the billboard "ambush" advertising.

After weeks of what must have been some heated arguments among the two, the Raiders decided the only course ahead was to sue.

In part the lawsuit states:

In an effort to capitalize on the enormous commercial benefits and goodwill that an authorized marketing relationship with an NFL Member Club brings, yet avoid paying for those rights, Nation's has leased billboard space adjacent to the Oracle Aerna/O.CO Coliseum sports complex, where the Raiders play their home football games.

The Raiders want to be compensated for trademark infringement, false advertising and unfair competition.

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