MarkMonitor Annual Spring Symposium: WWE talks trademark clearance and t-shirts down trousers

A counsel for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has spoken about the constantly increasing number of trademarks that the company owns and the difficulty of getting clearance for marks, sometimes with only 20 minutes’ warning.

Lauren Middlen, vice president for intellectual property at WWE, said there have been instances where the crowd have chanted slogans during events, or a new team of wrestlers has been formed, and clearance is needed as soon as possible.

“Often I’ll get a call during a show asking me to ensure we can get clearance to use a name or slogan. We will then put that name on t-shirts and merchandise to be sold at the next event,” she said.

This is particularly difficult in countries that have a first-to-file trademark system, Middlen added.

Middlen was speaking during the MarkMonitor Annual Spring Symposium, taking place in London yesterday, April 19.

She added that WWE has hundreds of trademarks including the company’s name, wrestlers’ names, and the names of live shows and pay-per-view shows.

Middlen also revealed that the company has been working hard to ensure that ‘Smackdown’, the name of one of the weekly WWE shows, does not become generic.

“People have been using the term as a verb, so we have to ensure its use is purely as an adjective,” she added

One of the other biggest threats facing WWE is from “bootleggers” selling t-shirts outside live events as well as hand-held signs with slogans emblazoned on them that WWE has trademarked.

Some of the dangers of the t-shirts include inferior or possibly flammable material. Furthermore, Middlen said, some shirts are stored “in all kinds of areas” including down the trousers and shoes of sellers to avoid detection.

The MarkMonitor Annual Spring Symposium finished yesterday, April 19.