Tuesday, January 1, 2019

WWE'S ATTEMPTS TO TRADEMARK HALLOWEEN HAVOC NOT GOING WELL

WWE's application of the 'Halloween Havoc' trademark has been given an initial refusal due to a prior pending application that might prevent WWE from trademarking the name due to likelihood of confusion. Of course, the prior pending application is the one from KNB INC. which WWE what is trying to oppose to begin with. KBN's application was filed in June 2018 while WWE filed their's in September. WWE can provide arguments to support why there might not be any likelihood of confusion. 

Halloween Havoc was, of course, an event held by Turner Broadcasting's WCW annually on PPV from October 1989 through October 2000.  The event was discontinued when WCW was shuttered and sold to WWE in March 2001.  WWE filed for a number of trademarks related to WCW-centric events last year as they utilize the WCW video library for DVD releases for material on the company's WWE Network streaming service.

WWE application was also refused by the USPTO for the following: 
"The identification of services is indefinite and must be clarified because the nature of the services is unclear. Applicant must amend the identification to specify the common commercial or generic name of the services. If the services have no common commercial or generic name, applicant must describe or explain the nature of the services using clear and succinct language."

WWE had provided the following for their application of Halloween Havoc: "Entertainment services, namely, the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events; providing wrestling news and information via the Internet, a global computer network or a mobile app; the production and distribution of an ongoing series, featuring sports entertainment; production of programming; Entertainment services, namely, multimedia programs in the field of general human interest, distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing entertainment information regarding ongoing programming via the Internet, a global computer network or a mobile app; entertainment services, namely, a production and distribution of programming featuring sports, news and current affairs rendered through the media of television, cable, satellite, radio, telephone and broadband systems, and via the internet and portable and wireless communication devices; providing information in the field of entertainment rendered via the Internet, and portable and wireless communication devices; Interactive entertainment services, providing personalized programming; providing online and on-screen guide to personalized and interactive television programming; production and distribution of entertainment and sports programming"

The USPTO provided the following modification which WWE may use if accurate.

“Entertainment services, namely, the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events; providing wrestling news and information via the Internet, a global computer network or a mobile app; the production and distribution of an ongoing series, featuring sports entertainment provided through {indicate broadcast medium, e.g., cable television, webcasts, radio broadcasts}; production of {applicant must specify the type of programming, e.g., television, radio} programming; Entertainment services, namely, multimedia programs in the field of general human interest, distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing entertainment information regarding ongoing programming via the Internet, a global computer network or a mobile app; entertainment services, namely, a production and distribution of programming featuring sports, news and current affairs rendered through the media of television, cable, satellite, radio, telephone and broadband systems, and via the internet and portable and wireless communication devices; providing information in the field of entertainment rendered via the Internet, and portable and wireless communication devices; Interactive entertainment services, providing personalized {applicant must specify the type of programming, e.g., television, radio} programming; providing online and on-screen guide to personalized and interactive television programming; production and distribution of {applicant must specify the type of programming, e.g., television, radio} entertainment and sports programming”

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