January 15, 2020 Baseball / Celebrities / Intellectual Property / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / MLB / Trademark

MLB’s Shane Bieber Faces Surprising Opposition to “Not Justin” Trademark

Cleveland Indians pitcher Shane Bieber is facing opposition to his attempt to register “Not Justin” as a trademark, though it’s not coming from pop star, Justin Bieber.

In August 2019, Shane Bieber applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to register “Not Justin” as a trademark. He wore a special jersey with the phrase on it, humorously referencing his uncommon last name that he shares with the pop star. Shane Bieber plans to use the phrase in standard character on various types of …

June 24, 2019 Golf / Trademark

Stephen Curry’s “Holey Moley” Faces Trademark Complaint in California Court

Fun Lab IP Co. Pty. Ltd. filed a trademark complaint in California federal court against Los Angeles-based Eureka Productions, claiming that the title of Eureka’s upcoming ABC game-show, Holey Moley, infringes on a popular Australian mini-golf chain of the same name. The show, which is hosted by two-time NBA Finals MVP and executive producer, Stephen Curry, and is advertised as a competitive mini-golf competition, will involve head-to-head matches between 12 contestants. Each episode, contestants will compete for a $25,000 prize on what an …

Washington Redskins Argue a Violation of their Free Speech

The Washington Redskins fought back against the recent decision by the US Patent and Trademark Office cancelling the team’s trademark protection over the use of the term ‘redskin’ as many Native American groups find it disparaging.

The court papers filed Monday by the team argue the law denying registration of disparaging trademarks is unconstitutional because it infringes on the team’s First Amendment right to free speech. The team’s attorneys argue the cancellation of the trademarks disfavors the team and singles them out, “interfering with the …