What might have seemed like the start of a legal battle between an NBA franchise and the maker of a German liqueur frequently combined with energy drinks appears to actually be a much more routine trademark filing.
After Jägermeister filed a formal opposition to the Bucks logo last week, some readers laughed at the notion the two could be confused. Others said they could see some similarities and at least one suggested the matter could be settled by having Jägermeister sponsor the shot clock at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The two sides said Monday they have been working together on the trademark issue for a while and expect to reach an agreement soon, although they didn’t offer any details of what would be involved.
“Jägermeister and the Milwaukee Bucks have been cooperating on this issue for months,” the German company said in a statement. “The filing was a formality to preserve our intellectual property rights. We expect to come to an agreement with the team soon and appreciate the climate of partnership and fair cooperation with the Milwaukee Bucks in the process.”
The statement from the Bucks struck a similar tone:
“The Bucks have been working amicably with Jägermeister throughout this process and we are confident that we will come to a resolution very soon.”
Jägermeister filed a notice of its formal opposition to the Bucks logo last week with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was first to report on the filing and the two sides working together.
The notice argued 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.”
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.”
