Yankees' Judge clinches win in 'All Rise,' 'Here Comes The Judge' trademark case
By Blake Brittain
WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - New York Yankees superstar slugger Aaron Judge and the Major League Baseball Players Association scored a win on Thursday when a federal appeals court rejected a Long Island man's bid to register trademarks covering the phrases "All Rise" and "Here Comes The Judge."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that Michael Chisena's proposed trademarks would violate Judge's trademark rights in the same phrases.
Chisena and spokespeople for the MLBPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.
Chisena applied for the two trademarks, as well as another mark covering an image of scales and a gavel overlaid on a baseball diamond, in 2017 during Judge's rookie season. Chisena said he intended to use the marks on clothing.
He told the USPTO that he was not a fan of professional sports and had never seen Judge play baseball. The office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board said in a 2022 decision that the timing and content of Chisena's filings were "eyebrow-raising" and that his "protestations of good faith strain credulity."
Judge and the MLBPA opposed the applications in 2018, arguing they would create consumer confusion with his common law trademarks. Common law trademarks are based on the use of a mark in commerce and do not have to be registered.
"As a formidable, authoritative power-hitter, and as the only Major League player with a surname having a judicial and legal connotation, plays on Mr. Judge’s surname became a hallmark of his public persona from the beginning of his Major League career," Judge's attorneys said in a brief at the Federal Circuit.
The USPTO agreed with Judge and denied Chisena's applications.
The appeals court on Thursday affirmed the USPTO's decision, rejecting Chisena's arguments that his rights preceded Judge's and that the right fielder's marks were not distinctive enough to merit trademark protection.
The case is Chisena v. Major League Baseball Players Association, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 23-2073.
For the MLBPA: Lori Shyavitz of McCarter & English
Chisena represented himself at the Federal Circuit.
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