AFL warned Tassie devil logo could expose it to costly trademark clash with Warner Bros

The AFL could be exposed to a costly lawsuit if its new Tasmanian team’s logo even remotely resembles the Looney Tunes cartoon character Taz the Tasmanian devil, lawyers have warned.

Tasmania was formally granted the 19th AFL team licence on Wednesday afternoon after being unanimously endorsed by the existing 18 clubs earlier this week.

The team name is yet to be announced, but in making the announcement at North Hobart Oval, outgoing AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan gave his backing to the use of the name “Devils”.

The AFL has already registered trademarks for the name “Tassie Devils” and “Tasmania Devils” with a final decision expected in mid-July.

McLachlan acknowledged there were potential legal issues if the name “Devils” was used, but said they could be navigated.

“Devils seems to make sense to me,” he said, before adding that any issues “can broadly can be worked through”.

“I know there are broad-minded people at Warner Bros. I imagine there will be a big push for that type of look.”

The league’s new chief executive, Andrew Dillon, has also admitted the name could cause AFL lawyers a few headaches, as Warner Bros already has a trademark related to its Tasmanian devil character, which first appeared in 1954.

Trademark lawyer Justin Lawrence, from Melbourne based firm Henderson & Ball Lawyers, said big money was at stake and the Warner Bros lawyers would “fiercely protect” its trademark.

“The AFL need to be eternally vigilant and ensure that if the Tasmanian devil cartoon character appears anywhere near them, they distance themselves entirely from it,” Henderson said. “Say ‘that’s not us’, or ‘we’re not connected with that’.”

“They need to say ‘we’re about the island of Tasmania and the marsupial that lives