Q&A: CrossFit counsel on its 'aggressive' IP strategy

In the fast-paced world of fitness, IP might not be the first thing that comes to the mind of an entrepreneurial brand owner. However, as the industry grows exponentially, so do the challenges of protection and enforcement.

The start of this month saw the 2023 CrossFit Games take place in Wisconsin in the US, prompting WIPR to explore the exercise giant’s branding strategy, and its proactive approach to combating IP theft.

Founded in 2001, CrossFit is a branded fitness regime known for its development of a varied, functional and high-intensity style of training that includes movements from gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more.

The company has since leaped to success, starting from a garage gym in Santa Cruz, California, to now having around 14,000 affiliated gyms in more than 158 countries.

There are more than 130,000 active trainers in CrossFit’s global network, which generated an estimated revenue of $82 million in 2022.

But as the brand evolves, so do the risks. CrossFit is acutely aware of the need to protect its specialised—and trademarked—training regime from being seen as a generic form of exercise.

The brand’s legal team aims to aggressively defend its affiliates and members by ensuring the CrossFit name is used only when appropriate.

WIPR spoke with Marshall Brenner, CrossFit’s general counsel, to discuss its IP strategy.

WIPR: What does CrossFit’s IP portfolio look like?

Brenner: CrossFit owns more than 700 trademarks across 150 countries. These include the ‘Crossfit’ trademark as well as other well-known marks including: ‘Forging Elite Fitness’, ‘The Sport of Fitness’, ‘CrossFit Games’, ‘Fittest on Earth, 3…2…1…Go!’, among several others.

CrossFit also has registered trademarks covering several of its famous workouts including ‘Fight Gone Bad’ and ‘MURPH’.

We also own several copyright registrations, but trademarks make up an overwhelming majority of the IP portfolio.

The legal department comprises three attorneys and the same number of paralegals—the size of CrossFit’s legal team is surprisingly small given the volume of work we’re handling.

CrossFit Legal [instructs counsel at] more than 50 different law firms around the world, which routinely file litigation and trademark opposition matters to protect the company’s IP.

The in-house team is responsible for protecting the company’s most important asset—the CrossFit trademark.

Our business is unusual because almost all of its revenue is derived from licensing IP to third parties around the world (gyms, trainers, etc).

The integrity of the trademark is critical to our business model, and we have a global reputation of aggressively protecting it.

We sent out, on average, 130 cease-and-desist letters a month in at least 50 countries during the course of 2022. And we are currently supervising 150 trademark opposition proceedings and more than 20 foreign trademark lawsuits.

In terms of policing IP rights, we are probably among the most active legal departments in the world for a company of our size.

How does IP theft threaten the CrossFit brand?

Unlicensed use of CrossFit’s IP could hurt the company in a number of ways. First and foremost, CrossFit Legal is the primary protector of its affiliate gym community’s investment in the brand because it stops others who use unlicensed marks and don’t pay for the right to use them.

If unlicensed use goes unchecked, then people will stop paying CrossFit for the right to use the name.

IP theft could also damage the reputation of CrossFit as a leader in global fitness, and its ability to provide the high-quality training that consumers expect to receive when they step into a licensed CrossFit affiliate gym.

CrossFit maintains strict control as a trademark licensor to ensure that all of its gyms are properly licensed and that the trainers offering CrossFit brand training at these gyms have a current CrossFit Level 1 (or higher) trainer credential.

Finally, IP theft could hurt the company by fostering the erroneous notion that CrossFit brand training is a generic form of exercise.

Are there any IP theft trends?

Most of the IP cases that CrossFit Legal handles involve gyms that offer CrossFit training without a licence.

Other cases comprise domain name disputes, and use of the IP in connection with unlicensed goods and services.

CrossFit Legal has experienced an increase in IP theft reports in markets that are growing: the company has recently experienced an uptick in IP cases reported in Europe and Asia.

We have a unique approach to addressing IP theft: an entire section of the CrossFit.com website is dedicated to combating this risk.

Using this link, CrossFit’s global community can report IP theft to the legal department and the company makes it easy for reports to be submitted worldwide because the IP theft form can be translated into 14 languages.

Consequently, CrossFit Legal receives thousands of IP theft reports each year from the community, which is passionate about reporting suspected misuse of the trademark.

How does CrossFit enforce the protection of its IP?

CrossFit Legal reviews and analyses all of the reports submitted through its IP theft report form, and reports from its licensed affiliate gyms receive priority reviews.

If a case suggests a misuse of the company’s IP, CrossFit Legal will send a cease-and-desist letter to the suspected infringer.

The team is extremely successful and efficient in obtaining compliance through in-house cease-and-desist letters with a 95% compliance rate.

For the remaining 5% of cases where compliance is not obtained, CrossFit uses one of its 50 global law firms to file a lawsuit or another legal process if warranted.

CrossFit Legal also routinely attends community gatherings and other events where it presents information about how to use the trademark correctly.

In addition to sending cease-and-desist letters, CrossFit also attends various fitness tradeshows to ensure that fitness equipment manufacturers are not using CrossFit’s IP.

For example, CrossFit Legal attended the Fitness and Business Online Expo (FIBO) in April—the world's largest fitness exposition held in Germany.

While at FIBO, CrossFit Legal delivers cease-and-desist letters to unlicensed exhibitors and where the manufacturers refuse to comply, CrossFit Legal immediately files an injunction order with the German court. And because CrossFit’s IP rights are so strong, the German court often issues an order granting the request the same day—which is unheard of in most countries.

CrossFit then works with the authorities to confiscate all the equipment from the vendors pursuant to the court order.

Can you provide any examples from the expo?

[One company] was selling [CrossFit-branded bars and weights]. It refused to stop selling the infringing products at the expo so CrossFit obtained an injunction order from the German court and its booth was completely confiscated at the expo.

[Another company] used the CrossFit trademark to sell their equipment (CrossFit rigs, ropes, etc). They resisted our enforcement efforts so its booth was also dismantled and authorities confiscated the unlicensed products during the Expo.

Through CrossFit Legal’s aggressive and visible enforcement efforts at FIBO, the major players in the fitness and equipment industry have learned not to misuse CrossFit’s trademark—otherwise they will face significant penalties—and, in some cases, public humiliation when the authorities dismantle their booths and confiscate equipment..

The CrossFit Legal team will continue to maintain a presence at FIBO and other major fitness expos to protect the company’s IP rights.