Pro Wrestler Ric Flair has lost an appeal with the USPTO for the use of the trademark NATURE BOY for apparel and other products as it is too close to the existing mark of another company using the mark, Nature Boys.
The widely popular pro wrestler, Flair, is known for his flowing blonde hair and his “Woooo” catch phrase. He has been a professional wrestler since the 1970s.
Ric Flair USPTO Nature Boy by MMA Payout on Scribd
The owner of the mark, is a Japanese company that filed for it in 2013. The company specializes in fishing gear as it filed for goods and services for clothing, namely for fishing vests, waders, caps, hats, gloves, etc.
Flair attempted to file for the Nature Boy trademark last year but was prevented to do so by the USPTO because it was too similar to the existing mark. Flair made the appeal this past fall and the Trademark Appeal board affirmed the denial.
Flair argued that the Examining Attorney did not properly consider the evidence. One of the arguments was an improper consideration of Flair’s fame when it comes to the examination of determining factors for likelihood of confusion. The attorneys for Flair asserted that based on the wrestler’s fame, there could be no likelihood of confusion with the fishing company.
In its appeal, Flair asserted the fact that his fame, plays a “dominant role” when determining whether there is a likelihood of confusion with another mark. A unique wrinkle to this case is that Flair had not filed for this mark any time before. Moreover, WWE had not filed for the mark any time before the Japanese company did in 2013. Flair had been using the nickname, “Nature Boy” since the 1970s. The Japanese company originally filed its application as a 1(b) which means that it had not even used the mark until after its filing.
The Examining Attorney noted that Flair is a famous wrestler and is widely known by his nickname.
However, in the appeal, the Board affirmed the Examining Attorney’s decision to deny Flair’s application for Nature Boy. The Board stated that based on the marks, “[t]he only difference in the marks is Registrant’s pluralization of the word “Boy.” Because Applicant and Registrant use the marks on in part legally identical products…the difference between the marks, even noticed by an ordinary consumer, fails to distinguish the marks.
As for the argument of Flair’s fame, the Board noted the problem with that “is that it requires us to go beyond the mark in the drawing page and description of goods in the application and to use extrinsic evidence regarding the scope of its own and cited Registrant’s use of its mark…”
Despite his overall fame as a wrestler, the Board indicated that Flair did not link NATURE BOY with apparel.
“…Applicant [Flair] has not shown that in context of t-shirts and tank tops, NATURE BOY has a specific meaning in connection with Ric Flair, the wrestler.”
Payout Perspective:
The Board determination highlights the need to be proactive in filing trademarks with the USPTO. Even though most people know Ric Flair as the Nature Boy, he did file for the trademark in an attempt to use it to sell clothing using the mark. Certainly, he had some sort of agreement with the WWE so that the company did not file it for him so there would not be a dispute over ownership rights if/when Flair left the company. Notably, Flair had a dispute with the company over “The Man” TM which the WWE used on behalf of female wrestler, Becky Lynch. A search of the ownership reveals that Flair eventually secured the trademark from the USPTO in 2019. However, he could not do the same with the Nature Boy mark. This does not mean Flair has to drop using the name, but he cannot sale clothing associated with the mark as he would run the risk of a lawsuit from the owners of the Nature Boys mark. The other avenue is for Flair to seek a license of the mark.
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