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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had his trademark application for the “Iceman” nickname denied this week, according to documents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Williams applied for the trademark after teammates gave him the nickname “Iceman” for his cool under pressure as he led the Bears to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs last season. The nickname took off, and Williams’ Iceman celebration even landed on a cover of Madden NFL 27.
The trademark for the nickname, however, was denied initially because of a similarity to LaCrosse Footwear’s Iceman boot liner. Williams’ application intended to use the Iceman nickname on sunglasses, trading cards, athletic bags, water bottles, T-shirts, hats and other athletic apparel.
A patent office review ruled that “a likelihood of confusion exists because the applied-for mark and the registered mark(s) create a confusingly similar commercial impression and the goods and/or services are closely related.”
LaCrosse Footwear currently has an Iceman boot liner available online for $16 on its website.
Williams, 24, will have the opportunity to appeal the ruling. He has a separate application pending for an Iceman logo, along with a number of other trademark applications, including several logos.
After Williams submitted his trademark application in March, Basketball Hall of Famer George Gervin — who also was known as Iceman during his ABA and NBA playing days in the 1970s and 1980s — also submitted a trademark application for the nickname. Former MMA fighter Chuck Liddell previously had filed for a similar trademark.
“We filed for it,” Williams said in April when asked about his trademark application and Gervin’s response. “The reaction to it? It was a little bit more funny to me. Obviously I’ve been having communication about it and trying to figure it all out. That’s an open-ended thing right now, just trying to figure it out.”
According to patent-office records, Williams filed his application March 16. Gervin filed for his four days later. Liddell’s application for “Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell” was filed in 2022 and remains under consideration.
Williams has three months to file a response to the “nonfinal” denial of his trademark application.
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Williams applied for the trademark after teammates gave him the nickname “Iceman” for his cool under pressure as he led the Bears to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs last season. The nickname took off, and Williams’ Iceman celebration even landed on a cover of Madden NFL 27.
The trademark for the nickname, however, was denied initially because of a similarity to LaCrosse Footwear’s Iceman boot liner. Williams’ application intended to use the Iceman nickname on sunglasses, trading cards, athletic bags, water bottles, T-shirts, hats and other athletic apparel.
A patent office review ruled that “a likelihood of confusion exists because the applied-for mark and the registered mark(s) create a confusingly similar commercial impression and the goods and/or services are closely related.”
LaCrosse Footwear currently has an Iceman boot liner available online for $16 on its website.
Williams, 24, will have the opportunity to appeal the ruling. He has a separate application pending for an Iceman logo, along with a number of other trademark applications, including several logos.
After Williams submitted his trademark application in March, Basketball Hall of Famer George Gervin — who also was known as Iceman during his ABA and NBA playing days in the 1970s and 1980s — also submitted a trademark application for the nickname. Former MMA fighter Chuck Liddell previously had filed for a similar trademark.
“We filed for it,” Williams said in April when asked about his trademark application and Gervin’s response. “The reaction to it? It was a little bit more funny to me. Obviously I’ve been having communication about it and trying to figure it all out. That’s an open-ended thing right now, just trying to figure it out.”
According to patent-office records, Williams filed his application March 16. Gervin filed for his four days later. Liddell’s application for “Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell” was filed in 2022 and remains under consideration.
Williams has three months to file a response to the “nonfinal” denial of his trademark application.
_____
Continue reading...
