Running Point is a Netflix comedy show about a family owned and run basketball team, called the Los Angeles Waves. The show stars Kate Hudson and is produced by, among others, Jeanie Buss. The show is loosely based on Buss’ life, whose family has owned the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team since 1979.
While watching Running Point, I noticed that the depiction of the Waves’ arena from the outside looked strangely familiar; however, I have never been to Los Angeles where the fictional team is based. As it turns out, the images of the team’s arena shows none other than the Hydro in Glasgow, being the home of Scintilla! The Hydro also featured in the Will Ferrel movie, Eurovision Song Contest.
The show could not use the name and likeness of a real basketball team without permission, and therefore decided on The Waves. However, as it turns out, the use of the fictional team name The Waves has now been challenged by Pepperdine University, a private Christian university, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine has used the name “the Waves” for its sports teams since 1937, and owns trade mark registrations in respect of the WAVES mark.
In February 2025, Pepperdine launched an action for trade mark infringement against Netflix Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., claiming that the team name used in Running Point is identical or confusingly similar to its registered trade marks, and that viewers would draw an association between the show and the university. The university claimed that the risk of confusion was further enhanced by the fictional team’s use of the same colours (blue and orange) and also being based in Los Angeles. Pepperdine also took issue with some of the themes explored in the show (which includes drug use, sexual content and bad language) being at odds with its Christian values and damaging to its reputation.
Pepperdine’s action included a demand for injunctive relief, damages, an account of profits, corrective advertising, and legal fees.
Netflix Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. explained its choice of The Waves name:
“as a nod to the real-life Lakers, whose team name alludes to a body of water” and to evoke a “Southern California ‘vibe,’ associated with beaches, sub, surfing, and waves”,
with the Court finding the use of the Waves to be sufficiently artistically relevant and that viewers would not be mislead into thinking that the show is connected with the university.