Puma Tokyo 2021

The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has a history of filing trademarks based on location and year, such as 1980 LAKE PLACID and RIO 2016 (see TSDR link). The USOPC has a TOKYO 2020 mark (Reg no. 4,662,320), BEIJING 2022 mark (Reg no. 5,802,984), and PARIS 2024 mark (Reg no. 6,050,531).

Puma last year applied for trademarks for PUMA TOKYO 2021 (see TSDR link), PUMA BEIJING 2022 (see TSDR link), and PUMA PARIS 2024 (see TSDR link). The USPTO has refused to register the trademarks on the grounds of likelihood of confusion and false suggestion of a connection. Puma then initiated trademark cancellation proceedings against the Olympic marks.

In response to Puma's actions over the past year, the USOPC filed a lawsuit for unfair competition and trademark infringement based on its Olympic trademarks (USOPC v. Puma SE et al, D. Colo., Case 1:21-cv-00528, see Complaint (hosted on Mega.nz)). The complaint in effect alleges that Puma wants to benefit from the USOPC trademarks but doesn't want to pay the licensing fees. This should be an interesting case as it is all about the licensing money.

Image by BanJo_89 from Pixabay