Tom Brady Accused of Giving a 'False Sworn Statement to the Government'
When New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady tried to trademark the nickname “Tom Terrific,” he was beset by a horde of angry New York Mets fans.
The fans, egged on by the team itself, were infuriated by Brady’s co-opting of a nickname that legendary Mets pitcher Tom Seaver was using before Brady was born.
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
And according to sports business maven Darren Rovell, Brady’s attempts at damage control after that public relations fiasco could land him in hot water with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Brady had claimed Thursday that he only patented the nickname to keep people from referring to him as “Tom Terrific.”
“Weird explanation for Brady on ‘Tom Terrific.’ He filed an intent to use for himself,” Rovell tweeted Friday. “His filing given this comment, now serves as a false sworn statement to the government.”
Weird explanation for Brady on “Tom Terrific.” He filed an intent to use for himself. His filing given this comment, now serves as a false sworn statement to the government, per @DarrenHeitner. https://t.co/6uFCQao0Zi
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 7, 2019
The tweet from sports legal expert Darren Heitner that Rovell was likely referring to suggested Brady doesn’t quite understand how trademarks work.
Tom Brady’s “Tom Terrific” trademark issue should be a lesson for those considering IP protection. Applications are made public. You are telling the federal government you’re actually using or have a bona fide intent to use the mark in commerce. Should’ve been explained to Brady.
— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) June 7, 2019
Patent attorney Ariel Reinitz also weighed in, pointing out that Brady’s lawyers, not Brady himself, signed the intent-to-use application.
Was signed by his attorneys (not him).
Tom’s not in trouble but the application is DOA
— Ariel Reinitz (@ArielR_IP) June 7, 2019
Reinitz suggested that since Brady himself didn’t sign the statement he later contradicted, he likely won’t get in legal trouble.
However, the chances of an intent-to-use application being accepted when the trademark’s would-be user is outright denying that very intent are effectively nil.
Heitner seemed to chalk it up to layman’s misunderstanding.
Sure, I doubt he’s “in trouble.” My point is that it doesn’t sound like he appreciated the complex process of trademarking.
— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) June 7, 2019
Reinitz then reinforced the idea that filing an intent-to-use application before publicly saying you don’t intend to use is at best a waste of your lawyers’ billable hours.
Intent to use applications aren’t terribly complex but you can’t file one and then publicly announce you never intend to use the mark
— Ariel Reinitz (@ArielR_IP) June 7, 2019
Brady, for his part, responded to media inquiries about the controversy while at Patriots minicamp.
Tom Brady’s full response on “Tom Terrific.” pic.twitter.com/tyFVGJ2JOO
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) June 6, 2019
“I was actually trying to do something because I didn’t like the nickname and I wanted to make sure no one used it because some people wanted to use it,” Brady said Thursday.
“I was trying to keep people from using it, and then it got spun around to something different than what it was, so good lesson learned and I’ll try to do things a little different in the future,” he added.
A reporter then asked, “So you did that for Tom Seaver’s memory and not for Tom Brady?”
Brady replied, “Well, I didn’t want people associating me with that, because that was something that I didn’t want to have happen.”
Whether that mollifies Mets fans remains to be determined, but Brady’s tone seemed to suggest he never intended to co-opt the nickname.
“I don’t like the nickname,” he said. “It wasn’t something I was trying to do out of any disrespect or ill manner or anything like that.”
The reporter then asked, “So no plans to use any merchandise or anything?”
Brady, amused, simply said, “No.”
As for the controversy itself, it will probably evaporate as soon as someone associated with the team is implicated in another of the long line of scandals that have plagued the New England Patriots organization during their 18-year run of sustained franchise success.
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