An interesting dispute recently broke out in the trademark world between Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and MLB's New York Mets.
Last month, Brady's company, TEB Capital, made two 1B filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect the use of the term "Tom Terrific," a nickname by which Brady is occasionally known. Filing 1B means the company has an intent to use the trademarks. The reported reasons? To protect the phrase for use on shirts, T-shirts and trading cards.
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This, of course, irked the Mets, who consider there to be only one "Tom Terrific": Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, winner of three Cy Young awards who led the team to its first World Series title in 1969.
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The organization on Sunday pleaded its case to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to deny the filings — albeit unofficially.
Hey @uspto, with all due respect to @TomBrady...There’s only one #TomTerrific to us. #LGM #Mets pic.twitter.com/CvzWY4hu7Y
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 3, 2019
That leads us to Thursday, when reporters spoke with Brady for the first time about what his intent was in terms of the disputed nickname. According to multiple reports, Brady doesn't even like it. In fact, he told reporters he made a file for it so others couldn't use it when referring to him.
On the “Tom Terrific” controversy, Brady said he filed the trademark because he doesn’t like the nickname and didn’t want people using it in connection with him. Said he didn’t mean any disrespect to Tom Seaver. Called the whole thing a “lesson learned.”
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) June 6, 2019
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So ... disaster averted? Maybe not. By virtue of the fact that he's Tom Brady, six-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots, it's entirely possible more people will start calling him "Tom Terrific" simply to get on his nerves.
Of course, this could all be a big ruse to get more people to call him by the nickname, which honestly would be the most Patriots thing ever.
