Turn on ESPN these days and you are bound to hear about the the New England Patriots’ marketing campaign for this year’s NFL playoffs which is based off the term “Do Your Job.” On and off the field, players and staff have been seen wearing knit hats and sweatshirts with the phrase.
What does this have to do with trademarks? Well, it’s probably making someone not related to the Patriots some money.
The New England Patriots obtained a trademark registration in April 2014 for DO YOUR JOB covering “entertainment services, namely, providing expert commentary on sports events via the internet.” (See here). An application for clothing was also submitted by the Patriots (here), but ultimately blocked because someone from Ohio has a registered mark for DO YOUR JOB! for hats, jackets, and shirts.
Trademark applications often get blocked when there would be a likelihood of confusion with another registered mark. It is clear there would be an issue here as the only difference between the two marks is the “!” found at the end of the registered mark, which is not enough of a difference to allow the Patriots’ application to register.
