Has the beast (Brock Lesner) lost his badge?
An informative piece for the WWE fans regarding the recent abandonment of Brock Lesner’s trade mark by USPTO.
Most of us have grown watching our favourite wrestlers thrashing their opponent in the ring. It would not be wrong to state that we, as kids, have fantasized knocking down our foes in our schools through moves that we saw during the wrestle mania assuming them to be genuine.
On examining the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) industry through lenses of an IP attorney this bloke came across the news of the abandonment of Brock Lesner’s trade mark this October.
WWE (“Applicant”) had filed a trade mark application this January for the name “Brock Lesner”. However, an office action was issued by USPTO asking the applicant to submit a written permission from the wrestler with regard to the use of his name to proceed with the application. The wrestler initially has two contracts with the applicant, first one being with respect to the in-ring competition and second one assigning his image rights and his name to be used as a trade mark for selling and distributing merch in his name. At present both of these agreements have expired and have not been renewed yet by the wrestlers.
USPTO granted six months time to the applicant to obtain and file a written consent in order to get the objections waived off. However, WWE failed to furnish the requisite permission and USPTO on 2nd October went on to pass the notice of abandonment against the application filed by WWE.
Requirement that went unsatisfied:
“To register a mark that consists of or comprises the name of a particular living individual, including a first name, pseudonym, stage name, or nickname, an applicant must provide a written consent personally signed by the named individual” 15 U.S.C. §1052(c); TMEP §§813, 1206.04(a)
The author can be contacted on harshit9281@gmail.com
