SEX ROD

Apparently, a Yankee fan (and most likely Darwin award candidate) thought he could slip a fast one by the Red Sox and attempted to register the mark “SEX ROD” in the same style as the “RED SOX” logo of the American League Baseball Club.

John L. Welch is a registered patent attorney with more than 30 years of experience in patent and trademark litigation, prosecution and counseling, has represented clients in scores of patent, trademark, copyright, unfair competition, and domain name lawsuits across the country, and has handled hundreds of opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

In his blog, “The TTABlog ® (Keeping Tabs on the TTAB ®), he examines the case of New Yorker and self-proclaimed "humorist" Brad Francis Sherman v. Boston Red Sox and his attempt to register the “SEX ROD” logo. The TTAB sided with the Red Sox finding that Sherman lacked a bona fide intent to use the mark, and further that the mark is both scandalous and disparaging.

If you’re looking for a light, easy reading entertainment piece, this is not it. Rather it discusses the finer points of trademark and copyright infringement as it pertains to this case involving the Red Sox.