It’s the battle of the trademarks, Rorion Gracie – who has the Gracie name trademarked with everything BJJ and Gracie Barra, claiming Carlos Gracie Jr – as part of the name is a unique and distribuighed figure not to be bound by Rorion’s early 1989 trademark.
And all of this in the wake of Gracie Barra rumours of franchasing fee increases, academies moving from GB to Gracie Humaita – is it all connected? Probably, but it’s all speculation – here’s what we know about the trademark dispute….
Gracie Barra Logo Trademark vs Rorion Gracie’s Claim
The easily recognizable GB logo was attempted to be trademarked in 2009 by Gracie Barra Franchise Systems. Which would lead us to [einset][/einset]see that something is coming, preparations are being made. But how does this trademark work in conjunction or in alignment with Rorion Gracie’s claim to the Gracie name in all things Jiu-Jitsu?
Well – it doesn’t. According to the USPTO (US Patent & Trademark Office), they decided that Rorion’s claim and Trademark was claimed and in use earlier than Gracie Barra’s. In addition, GB made a claim that the term “Gracie” is a general term and is not specific to a company and should be treated like (our example): Publications. Where “Publications” can be a general indicator for “Gracie Publications” the use of it for “Car Publications” is acceptable as long as logos, representation do not infringe on the brand and create confusion.
The complete USPTO decision is here for your review. The complete history of submission is here.
Wait, There’s More Coming from Rorion…
Rorion Gracie, appears to be active in registering new trademarks in 2010: Gracie Combatives, Gracie Bully Proof, Women Empowered and a few more. A list of all of his trademarks are here at the USPTO. These look to be clarification, logo representation, etc..
All in all the first in line gets served. Trademark your names, or use it first in commerce.
