Friday, December 7, 2018

Dallas Cowboys Rookie Leighton Vander Esch Files 30 Trademark Applications in Single Day

LVE Development, LLC, a business entity presumably associated with Dallas Cowboys rookie Leighton Vander Esch, had a busy day at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on December 3rd. On that day, Vander Esch's entity filed 30 trademark applications ($6,750 in filing fees, if anyone is counting).

Though LVE Development filed 30 different applications, the applications cover only five potential trademarks:
Many of the filings appear to be related to Vander Esch's new online store, which he announced on Twitter two days after the filings.
How can 30 applications cover only five different trademarks? Because LVE Development filed each application in a single class of goods/services. For example, LVE Development filed one application for THE WOLF HUNTER in Class 28 for footballs and another application for THE WOLF HUNTER in Class 36 for a variety of charitable services. It's possible to list multiple classes in a single application, but an issue in one class can hold up the entire application, so it's often best to break up a multi-class filing into separate applications (the filing fees remain the same either way).

Other goods/services covered by these applications include:
  • Advertising services, namely, promoting the brands, goods and services of others (Class 35);
  • Beanies; Football uniforms; Gloves and a variety of other apparel items (Class 25);
  • Charitable services in the nature of providing fitness instruction in the field of football (Class 41); and
  • Backpacks; Athletic bags; Duffel bags; Gym bags; Sports bags; Weekend bags (Class 18).
And how do we know these trademark applications are actually associated with Leighton Vander Esch? Because Vander Esch gave his written consent to file each application and such consent was submitted to the USPTO. That written consent is required under Section 2(c) of the Trademark Act, which prohibits the registration of a mark consisting of the name of any living individual without that individual's written consent. That applies to pseudonyms, stage names, and nicknames as well (i.e. THE WOLF HUNTER). See TMEP 1206.01.

According to my quick search, these are the first and only federal trademark applications filed by LVE Development, LLC.

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