Conor McGregor with a new IP fight on the European stage

Conor McGregor encountered a new fight in the IP arena. This time the case concerns an opposition filed by the sporting apparel company Champion against McGregor’s application for a European trademark THE CHAMP CHAMP.

This isn’t the first time when the MMA fighter has problems with his trademarks. There are oppositions against his earlier applications for MYSTIC MAC and I AM BOXING too.

The reasons for such oppositions are from one side the nature of the relevant marks which consist of widespread and used words. From another side, the oppositions are highly possible because of the nature of the EU marks themselves, which gives opportunities for oppositions not only by earlier European trademarks but from earlier national trademarks in every EU Member State as well. And currently, we talk about 28 Member States.

Due to this potential complexity in the registration process, it is highly advisable a good IP strategy and preliminary trademark search to be implemented in advance and in particular in the brand building process.

We don’t know for sure whether there was a strategy and search in the case at hand and whether a decision was made for proceeding even with the chances for oppositions but nevertheless the case is indicative of the fact that every applicant has to be cautious when filing an EU trademark applications.

Source: Josh H. Escovedo (The IP Law blog)