Ryan Fitzpatrick might be the most beloved journeyman quarterback in the NFL. The Harvard alum — did you know Ryan Fitzpatrick went to Harvard?!? — has made stops in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Tennessee, Houston, New York, and most recently Tampa, and in most of those places he managed to find himself thrust into a starting role and, at some point, lose it do to erratic play.
When he’s at his best, Fitzpatrick is a delight to watch as he chucks the ball down the field with near reckless abandon and creates some incredible big plays through the air. At his worst, he is a turnover machine destined to be sent to the bench at some point. Those moments of brilliance, however, make him a beloved figure in football and when he’s cooking the nickname FitzMagic often gets broken out.
Elsewhere in Florida, Minkah Fitzpatrick plays defensive back for the Dolphins, and decided to try and capitalize on sharing the last name with Ryan by trademarking FitzMagic. Unfortunately for Minkah, as the patent office determined on New Year’s Day, the use of FitzMagic has almost always been in referral to Ryan Fitzpatrick, which means Minkah’s effort to trademark the phrase created a “false connection” with Ryan and was thus denied.
On New Year's Day, the USPTO denies Mikah Fitzpatrick's trademark application for FITZMAGIC because it creates a "false connection" with Ryan Fitzpatrick.
If only someone had been able to predict this…
👇https://t.co/vT8oPpSgEo#FitzMagic#MiamiDolphins #finsup#Buccaneers https://t.co/W6tBr2LfLi— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) January 3, 2019
The attached evidence consists of news articles referring to Ryan Fitzpatrick as “FITZMAGIC” and webpages advertising “FITZMAGIC” T-shirts depicting Ryan Fitzpatrick. This evidence clearly indicates that FITZMAGIC is a is well known and widely publicized nickname for Ryan Fitzpatrick and that the name is uniquely and unmistakably associated with Ryan Fitzpatrick so as to constitute that party’s name or identity.
It’s the correct decision by the patent office, but also a reasonably worthwhile attempt from Minkah because this was the worst case scenario. If nothing else, we finally have definitive, legal proof that Ryan is the true keeper of FitzMagic and if he would like to file for a trademark, it’s ready for him.
