Rob Gronkowski might be in trouble, and this time it’s for entirely business reasons. Nike is not happy that his logo looks a bit too much like a certain Michael Jordan logo you might recognize.
In April of last year, Gronkowski filed a trademark application for Gronk Nation L.L.C. The logo was to be used on clothing and exercise equipment.
But according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, last month the shoe monolith filed a formal comlpaint with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trial and Appeal Board claiming that the logo looked too similar to the Jumpman that Nike has used for its Jordan Brand merchandise for nearly two decades.
Here are the logos in question.
Nike says Gronkowski logo is too close to Jumpman, files opposition against Gronk, who endorses Nikehttps://t.co/ki1GVZrCxd pic.twitter.com/t6l3WoPJrj
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 30, 2017
Indeed, both silhouettes feature humans with sports balls, and when you put them in monochrome it’s easy to see the similarities.
Bnd it’s not like Gronkowski is anti-Nike. He’s appeared in Nike commercials and wears Nike cleats on the field, and Nike also supplies jerseys for the NFL. He even had a signature shoe come out for the company last year. So it’s not like this will devolve into all-out war here.
Gronkowski’s lawyer doesn’t seem too concerned about this.
“My client has created one of the most recognizable brands in sports today,” said attorney Troy Carnrite, a partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, which represents the Gronkowski family. “We are very proud of this brand and are optimistic that we will resolve this with Nike amicably.”
It’s good that this won’t spiral out of control, but I think Gronk’s lawyer would be hard-pressed to prove that the Gronkowski brand is one of “the most recognizable brands in sports today.” He’s definitely behind LaVar Ball and Big Baller Brand in that regard.
