Tom Brady’s trademark request has been denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The denial comes after the NFL superstar was publicly criticized for his decision to file the trademark application in the first place. Now, the six-time Super Bowl champion has six months to respond to the decision. If Brady fails to respond to the rejection, the application will be considered abandoned. Considering the amount of backlash he received for filing the application in the first place, it’s likely he’ll just let it die out.
What did Tom Brady try
to trademark?
Brady filed paperwork to trademark the nickname ‘Tom Terrific’. According to the filing, Brady’s team attempted to trademark the nickname to sell t-shirts and other merchandise bearing the phrase – at least that’s what the application suggested.
Brady, however, alleges that he applied for the trademark because he didn’t “like” the nickname. He claims his attempt to trademark the nickname was to prevent it from being used in the future. By trademarking the name, Brady would essentially prevent anyone from using the nickname for profit, according to The Washington Post. Basically, if the application had been approved no one would have been able to use the nickname on merchandise, whether the merch had anything to do with Brady or not.
Why was Tom Brady’s
trademark denied?
Regardless of why Brady filled the application, he won’t be receiving a trademark on the nickname. According to CBS News, the application was denied on Aug. 22. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the application because the nickname is already tied to another sports figure. The moniker is associated with Tom Seaver, a Hall of Fame pitcher.
Seaver was part of the 1969 “Miracle Mets”. He spent 20 years playing in the MLB, hanging up his cleats in 1986. Seaver walked off the diamond with more than 300 wins in his career. He also had an earned run average of under three. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992. In March 2019, Seaver’s family announced that he would be retiring from public appearances because he was suffering from dementia, according to MLB. The announcement came just two months before Brady attempted to trademark his nickname.
Critics believe Brady
was attempting to profit from another player’s nickname
Brady claims he intended to “protect” the nickname both for himself and for Seaver, but New York fans aren’t buying it. Not only have Mets fans clapped back, asking if anyone, anywhere has even called Brady “Tom Terrific”, but they are curious to know if he understands Seaver’s legacy, or how it relates to New York.
The New York Time notes that New York sports fans were united, even just for a moment, over the “Tom Terrific” debacle. While Mets and Yankee fans don’t normally get along, they take the legacy of their star players very seriously. While Seaver might have thrown for Boston at one point, he is decidedly a Met.
Fans strongly believe the nickname belongs only to the MLB great, nor are they buying Brady’s excuse that he was trying to protect Seaver with his filing. They note that Seaver’s legacy is perfectly safe in Flushing without Brady’s help.
