The University of Florida Gators recently chomped into a competitor that applied for a trademark similar to the university’s reptilian mascot. According to James Hastings of Cohen IP Intellectual Property Law, the University Athletic Association opposed Incentive Marketing Inc.’s application for the mark GATOR SHOP, as it was too similar to Florida’s GATOR family of marks.
The athletics board was able to submit 12 U.S. trademark registrations to the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board for its products and services. This was probably in large part because of the group’s stringent trademark licensing procedures, explains Hastings, who notes that all members of the NCAA and other universities fervently protect their brands as they bring in major revenue for them.
