I was planning to sell Little League tshirts that say "NATICK BASEBALL" in a similar major league baseball font/colors across the front of the shirt. Would this be considered "confusing to the consumer" and therefore copyright or trademark infringement (even though it has a completely different town name than the major league team name)?
Trademark confusion looks to several factors to determine whether it's likely that consumers of the products or services at issue would be confused as to source. Looking at consumer class means that consumers of, say, stuffed animals are going ot be less discerning and sophisticated than, for anpther example, consumers of techincal computer software.
The level and class of potential consumer sophisitication is one of 8 factors in this inquiry-- the others are similarity of marks, similarity of goods, channels of trade, advertising, evidence of actual confusion, defendant's intent in adopting the mark, and strength of the mark. You have to balance all of them, like a court in your jurisdiction would, to determine whether your sue would confuse consumers.
Consult an IP lawyer for help.
Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Like Ms. Koslyn pointed out, strength of the mark is another factor to look into. Many baseball teams use a similar font, and many sports teams in general use the same colors. You generally cannot claim trademark protection in generic fonts or in colors. However, the combination of the font and colors might create an issue.
You'd want an IP attorney to take a look at the actual trademarks at issue to give you a better idea of whether you are running a trademark infringement risk.
You want to know whether a reasonable person's conclusion that buyers will likely be confused when exposed to two trademarks is simply "an objective opinion?" As a Buddhist would say, "unask the question."
Your phrase "objective opinion" is a non sequitur. An opinion, by definition, is subjective -- not objective.
But the legal conclusion [yes, an opinion] under trademark law that confusion is likely is formed by objective reality -- that is, the particular facts and circumstances and an analysis of certain past and analogous behaviors. In toto, these objective indicia of likely confusion can factually support the conclusion that confusion is likely. Or not. Nothing subjective about it [at least when the judge gets to decide things. What juries do when they're charged to decide the matter is sometimes pure whimsy].
I confess to not understanding the rest of your question. You apparently want to sell baseball shirts emblazoned with the phrase NATICK BASEBALL in a font and colors that are used by an MLB team [the Red Sox I gather]. You clearly want the buyers and viewers of your shirts to associate those shirts with the Red Sox -- why else are you using that team's font and color scheme? It is that association which is quite likely unlawful. The Red Sox have the right to engage in business w/o some other company trading on their good name and their goodwill.
There is a misconception out there that major league sports teams somehow belong to the public. Baseball may be America's pastime but it is, first and foremost, a business. And it cannot permit hangers-on to muddy its teams' branding messages.
At the end of the day only a trademark attorney will be able to pass on whether your NATICK BASEBALL tee shirts would likely infringe the trademark rights owned the Red Sox. Good luck.
As my colleagues have stated, Major League Baseball is a business. One of the most lucrative sources of revenues in this business is apparel, such as hats, T-shirts, uniforms, shoes, etc. The people that run Major League Baseball wisely understand that in order to protect this stream of revenue, they must aggressively enforce their trademark and other IP rights against those who would use those rights for commercial purposes without paying license fees to Major League Baseball. Thus, you should assume that the T-shirts that you design and sell will be scrutinized by someone associated with Major League Business. If they believe that you are violating their trademarks or other IP rights, they may accuse you of infringement in court and/or demand that you pay license fees and/or damages.
Your problem is that it appears you are trying to suggest some association between your league and Major League Baseball. You have no right to do this without permission from Major League Baseball. There are plenty of ways to design a baseball T Shirt or uniform without suggesting a connection with Major League Baseball of the Boston Red Sox. Alternatively, if you want to suggest such a connection, then seek permission to do so (which may require you to pay a license fee).
One further comment--- is not designed as a place for people to obtain free legal advice on specific questions such as this. No lawyer can give you definitive legal advice on these issues without knowing all of the details about the T-shirts that you propose to make. It is quite possible that when you sit down with experienced legal counsel, you will find a way to meet your objectives without violating IP rights of others. But do not make the mistake of relying on the exchange of general legal information on when you need to make decisions in specific legal issues in your specific situation. Little league baseball, itself, is a big business these days, and if you will be selling merchandise in connection with little league baseball teams, you should retain IP counsel to advise you on the many legal issues that may arise in connection with your enterprise.
