The makers of the infamous “Scream” mask are trying to kill Boston Celtics guard Terry Rozier’s use of the copyrighted image, according to a lawsuit.
Rozier, who has coined the nickname “Scary Terry,” has been supplementing his $3.1 million salary by hawking merchandise printed with a cartoon image of himself wearing the mask from the 1996 slasher flick. The sweatshirt and T-shirt line has been a hit, according to his management company.
“Scary Terry-fever hit” after the NBAer posted a shot of himself in the mask on Instagram, according to the suit.
“Five hundred sweatshirts and T-shirts were printed. The only real advertising was done by Rozier on social media, and the entire allotment sold out in about two days,” Cleveland-based Verus Management wrote in an article about Rozier, according to court documents.
The merch was also sold by the sports blog, Barstool, and Rozier bragged about the marketing ploy in a GQ article.
“ . . . One of the guys in my agency who does marketing sent me shirts. It had the Jason mask on there. And I was like, ‘We need to get the Scream mask on there,’” the complaint says.
But Easter Unlimited, Inc. claims the image isn’t Rozier’s to use, because they have two registered trademarks related to the mask.
They’re suing him in Brooklyn Federal Court for copyright infringement and want Rozier to fork over his “wrongful profits.”
A rep for Verus said the agency had no information about the case and declined to comment.
