Tiger Woods hits back after being accused of hijacking SDR logo
Tiger Woods' Sun Day Red has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court after being accused of Tigeraire of 'hijacking' their logo.
Tiger Woods' Sun Day Red have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court against Tigeraire after the company accused the golfer of 'unlawfully hijacking' their logo.
CNBC were the first to report Tigeraire - which supply cooling products to athletes - had filed a motion of opposition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Tigeraire requested that Sun Day Red's trademark application be denied on the grounds that it 'violates' federal and state intellectual property law.
Both logos contain a leaping Tiger.
The tiger on Sun Day Red is comprised of 15 strokes, each representing Woods major championship victories.
He plans to 'ruin the logo' by winning one more major before he retires but the prospect seems unlikely given he is now 48 years old still struggling with the injuries he sustained in a serious car crash in 2021.
Woods played in every major in 2024 but missed cuts at the U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Open Championship.
He finished dead last at The Masters.
Take a look at the logos here:
According to Golf Digest, Sun Day Red have - unsurprisingly - filed a lawsuit of their own in the U.S. District Court.
They claim Sun Day Red has not infringed on Tigeraire's trademark rights and there is no likelihood of consumer confusion between the two.
Inside the 24-page brief, Sun Day Red claim Tigeraire has only challenged the trademark in the hopes of extracting, 'an unwarranted windfall from a larger and more successful brand based on threats of legal action and demands of exorbitant sums'.
What is Tigeraire?
According to the company's website, the company was founded in 2020 in Batoun Rouge, Louisiana.
Their sole objective was to: 'Create a cooler and more comfortable environment inside the helmets of the newly minted NCAA Championship football team, the LSU Tigers.
The company also make products for golfers.
What is the likely outcome?
According to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, there is likely to be a settlement before going to trial.
He told CNBC: "They [Tigeraire] now likely give themselves an opportunity to negotiate with Tiger and TaylorMade to see if there's a resolution that might be had
"By filing this opposition, the portable fan company really basically gets them a seat at the table to negotiate
"Because in order for Tiger and TaylorMade to get this trademark registered there, you're gonna have to win this case."
