WWE Files Opposition to FTR Trademark, Says They Created Them

Aug 27, 2020 - by Steve Gerweck

PWInsider reports that on August 26, WWE filed an opposition to trademark filings for FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler). Previously, WWE had begun the process to oppose some of their trademark filings. Per the report, WWE opposed the following trademarks filed by FTR:

No Flips, Just Fists
Say Yeah
Top Guys
#FTRKO
Shatter Machine

The opposition filing stated the following:

“Applicants (Wheeler and Harwood) entered into contracts with Opposer (WWE) effective as of April 10, 2017 to exclusively perform professional wrestling services for Opposer in connection with WWE live and televised professional wrestling exhibitions (the “Booking Agreements”). Pursuant to Section 3 of the Booking Agreements entitled “Intellectual Property, Applicants expressly agreed that Opposer owned, in perpetuity, any and all trademarks, service marks, and/or distinctive and identifying indicia, including among other things, ring name,nickname, likeness, personality, characters, gestures, routines, themes and any other items of tangible or intangible intellectual property written, composed, submitted, added, improvised, created, used by or associated with Applicants’ performance during the term of the Booking Agreements. The sole exception to the intellectual property rights owned by WWE under the Booking Agreements is any intellectual property specifically identified in Exhibit A to the Booking Agreements, defined in the Booking Agreements as “WRESTLER Intellectual Property”.”

The five trademark filings were identified as not being “Wrestler Intellectual Property” and were “created by WWE.” WWE’s opposition filing also stated the following:

“In or around April 2020, Applicants and WWE terminated the Booking Agreements (“Termination Agreements”). Consistent with the plain language of Paragraph 3 of the Booking Agreements and WWE’s ownership of SHATTER MACHINE, Applicants agreed and confirmed in the Termination Agreements that they were forever precluded from using any intellectual property not identified as WRESTLER Intellectual Property. The Termination Agreements explicitly provide that Applicants were forever precluded from using any WWE intellectual property including but not limited to “the names, likenesses, costumes, props, gimmicks, gestures, routines, themes, sayings (e.g., WWE tag team references or sayings such as the Top Guys, ‘No flips, Just fists’ or FTKRO [sic]), personalities, caricatures or finishing moves (e.g. Shatter Machine) which refer or relate to, or which are confusingly similar to those used in connection with your performances” with WWE.”

WWE granted the team formerly known as The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) their release earlier this year. They later joined the AEW roster. PWInsider notes that Wheeler and Harwood have until October 5 to respond to WWE’s opposition filing.

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