The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has refused four trademark applications filed by University of North Carolina coach Bill Belichick and his partner Jordon Hudson, according to a report by ESPN. The trademarks were rejected on the grounds of a “likelihood of confusion” with previously filed trademarks from when Belichick was coach of the NFL’s New England Patriots.
In April, TCE Rights Management had attempted to secure several trademarks, namely the four phrases “Do Your Job (Bill’s Version),” “Ignore the Noise (Bill’s Version),” “The Belestrator (Bill’s Version)” and “No Days Off (Bill’s Version).” The phrases were all mantras from Belichick’s two-decade tenure with the Patriots, and the rights to them remain held by the Patriots after they had been trademarked between the years 2009 and 2017. In its application, TCE Rights Management — with Hudson as its listed manager — said that it had sought the trademarks for clothing, audio and video streaming material, and books as well as the production of media including films, podcasts and DVDs.
The patent office formally rejected the applications last week, citing that consumers would likely be “confused, mistaken or deceived as to the commercial source of the goods and/or services of the parties” given the similarity to previous trademarks. TCE Rights Management has three months to appeal the ruling.
Belichick’s attempt to trademark his own phrases — each with (Bill’s Version) attached — is emblematic of the rift that has formed between himself and the Patriots since he stepped down as their coach at the end of the 2023 season. Last week, it was reported that Belichick had banned Patriots scouts from access to UNC’s football program, with Belichick bluntly stating following a win over Charlotte that “It’s clear I’m not welcome there at their facility. So they’re not welcome at ours.”
Belichick had served as the Patriots’ coach from 2000 to 2023, winning six Super Bowls in the process with two different dynasties led by legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady.
Read the full article here
