Does the deer head logo used by the Milwaukee Bucks remind you of the Jägermeister deer head logo? Are you likely to confuse the two, particularly if the Bucks don’t play well?
Germany-based Mast-Jägermeister SE has filed its opposition to the Milwaukee Bucks trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The notice, filed Thursday, argues that there is a likelihood of confusion between the two logos, a false suggestion of connection and a dilution of the Jägermeister logo’s “distinctive quality.”
The Bucks first applied for the trademark in April 2015 when they unveiled their new logos and colors. The team will have until January 17 to file an answer to Jägermeister’s notice.
Jägermeister says it has all rights and interests in trademarks and names containing a deer head design and has used those marks for a variety of goods and services, including entertainment.
The company alleges the Bucks knew Jägermeister had the rights to the deer head marks before applying to register its logo. The notice alleges the Bucks adopted the logo “in bad faith with an intent to cause confusion and deception, to create a false suggestion of connection or association with (Jägermeister), and to trade on the fame, popularity and goodwill associated with” the deer head marks.
Jägermeister says the services provided by the two organizations “are so related” that it creates the potential for confusion. The potential for confusion “is enhanced by the extraordinary fame” of Jägermeister’s trademarks, the notice says.
It also says the potential for damage to Jägermeister’s goodwill “is enhanced by the fact that prospective customers who are not satisfied with the quality of Applicant’s services will attribute those defects to Opposer and this will injure Opposer’s reputation and goodwill.”
A similar argument is also applied to the potential for dilution of the Jägermeister deer head’s ability to identify and distinguish the company’s goods and services.
