Branding the Celebrity Athlete… An Example of Why Athlete Agents and Managers Must Monitor Trademark Filings; Has Tiger Woods Been Doing Some Tax Planning?
As if the agents and managers of celebrity athletes don’t have enough to do… an understanding of the trademark application and monitoring processes is essential (and not just in the US).
So, what inspired this post? Recently a trademark application for the mark TIGER WOODS was filed in the US (serial number 79041026) directed to the following goods and services:
International Class: 037; Building construction; repair, installation services; construction work on facilities for building and maintenance of golf courses and golf driving ranges
International Class: 041; Education, training; services of a golf club, sports instruction, golf instruction; entertainment, recreational services, carrying-out and planning of sport events and golf tournaments, teaching and arranging of sports lessons and of golf lessons; sporting and cultural activities; providing golf facilities, organisation of conventions; organization of sports competitions, entertainment relating to sports competitions
International Class: 042; Consulting on construction and building of golf courses and golf driving ranges; drawing up of blueprints for the construction and building of golf courses and golf driving ranges; golf course designing services; golf course architectural services; landscaping services
International Class: 043; Services for providing food and drink; temporary accommodation; hotels and holiday camps, fast-food restaurants, cafés
International Class: 044; Health and beauty care services for human beings; landscaping services
Seems legitimate, right? Heck, the applicant is even listed as Tiger Woods Enterprises, SA. Well… the applicant is a Swiss company, not Tiger’s Florida company ETW Corporation; which is listed as the owner of all of Tiger’s other US trademarks. So, is the application legit or is someone trying to prey on Tiger’s good name? Perhaps, Tiger and his agent / manager are the only ones that know for sure, but a trusted source tells me that the Swiss law firm that filed the international application is very reputable, leading me to believe that the application is legitimate. Has Tiger been doing some sophisticated international tax planning?
Legit or not… it is a good illustration of why celebrity agents and managers need to constantly monitor trademark filings.
David Dawsey – Watching Professional Golfer’s Trademarks