"MMA does have sanctioning bodies."
I don't mean the NSAC or CSAC. I mean a sanctioning body in terms of a commission that keeps unified rankings and awards legally binding championship belts.
And requires mandatory challengers, etc.
"It's not the word "submission" -- it is the stylized form "SUBMISSION" for use on clothing and promotions.... just another brand name, that's all (no worse than Tap-Out, etc.)..."
You would know better than I would, but why do you assert that? I don't get that from:
""Ultimate Fighting Championship," "Ultimate Fighting," "UFC," "Submission," "As Real As It Gets" and the Octagon cage design are registered trademarks or trademarks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the U.S., Japan and other jurisdictions."
I fully admit that I'm no expert on trademark law.
"Tenchu--that deserves its own thread IMO. You want to make one? "
Looks like I should have.
> I don't mean the NSAC or CSAC. I mean a sanctioning body in terms of a commission that keeps unified rankings and awards legally binding championship belts.
They do -- ICSF. And as siouxNYC informed me the other day, USKBA and WKA... but none of these sanctioning bodies seem to have much juice -- I think they work with smaller shows.... the bigger shows don't appear to work with sanctioning orgs.
Go for it now. A lot of people will miss it stuck in here.
Tomato Can-
the USKBA, the ISCF, the WKA (and a few others i can't remember) all are MMA sanctioning organizations. i don't know about mandatory challengers though...
> You would know better than I would, but why do you assert that?
Because I took a quick look at the USPTO registration... posted a link to it, too.
Does the 5 mean they filed for 5 different stylizations?
If I had a clothing line or a show, Submission Fighting, that didn't follow the UFC's stylization, and the line or show became wildly successful, or perhaps even just an advertisement for a wildly successful show that used "Submission", does Zuffa pursue the mark on the basis that it is "confusingly similar?"
Maybe
LMAO--
Maybe?
You have any doubt?
LOL
In other news,
Zuffa has filed for trademark protection on all of the following terms:
Fighting, Kick, Punch, Takedown, Slam, MMA, mixed martial arts, triangle, choke, triangle choke, arm choke, KO, Knock Out, Technical Knock Out, arm bar, leg lock, heel hook and Beat Down.
Still available for those interested are:
physical chess!, dancing in board shorts, and Jon-Son's Speedo Athletic Competition!
> Does the 5 mean they filed for 5 different stylizations?
Nope... that's just the code number for the Mark Drawing Code, which addresses physical appearance of the mark, in this case "WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM"... this means that the typography matters...other possibilities are design-only, design-plus-words, and others (colors, sounds, etc.)... if the typography did not matter, it would say 'standard characters claimed'...
Gracias.
You know they are going to bring the claim at some point.
"the USKBA, the ISCF, the WKA (and a few others i can't remember) all are MMA sanctioning organizations."
Ok, but they're not on the world level. I mean, you won't find Minotauro or CroCop on their heavyweight rankings, will you? Promoters have to stop passing out their own belts before this sport becomes truly legit.
That's why I say they act and behave as quasi-leagues, not straight promotions. I was all alone in that discussion.
> You have any doubt?
LOL... ok, well maybe I do have one doubt... based on your scenario, I see one potential problem with a claim based on a 'confusingly similar' mark... Zuffa's mark was allowed based on a statement of intended use (i.e., it has not yet actually been used with a product in commerce)... therefore, Submission Fighting "might" have an argument that it couldn't be confusingly similar to the average consumer because the average consumer doesn't even know that Zuffa has the mark... but, perhaps the registration itself consitutes some sort of constructive use -- would have to check (which I'm not gonna do)... thus the 'doubt'...
> I mean, you won't find Minotauro or CroCop on their heavyweight rankings, will you?
Yes, you will (at least on ICSF - I have not seen the others). What you won't see, though is them fighting for the championship (like you said, these orgs have no juice).
I agree, they could also face challenge on the fact that its not being protected and currently being used, right?
But, as we have seen, that is not the point. That won't stop the suit (AND HUGE LEGAL FEES) from being brought against the smaller (AND LESS ABLE TO PAY SUCH HUGE LEGAL FEES) from being brought!
> I agree, they could also face challenge on the fact that its not being protected and currently being used, right?
As long as extensions (and fees) of statement of intended use are kept up, they will get cover. But, yeah, on first blush, I would probably come up with another name (rather than Submission Fighting [which is generic anyway]).