Tiger Woods business venture hits a rough patch

Tiger Woods thought he scored a hole-in-one after ending his 27-year partnership with Nike (NKE) in January to develop his own golfing apparel brand. In February, a month after ending his previous long-lived partnership, Tiger Woods announced his new partnership with TaylorMade Golf Company, Inc. to release an apparel and accessories line for golfers.

After designing the apparel and some strategic planning, Woods officially unveiled Sun Day Red in May. The brand features a wide range of products available for fans to purchase, with a signature logo on every item. Woods is regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time, having won 82 PGA Tour events and 15 men’s major golf championships, among other accomplishments.

With so many accolades and millions of loyal fans, it is a no-brainer for such a renowned golfer to develop his own golfing apparel and accessories line as his next career move. However, the hype didn’t last long for Woods; the golfer now faces accusations of “hijacking” one of the most important marketing distinguishers a brand could have.

**Trademark Dispute Over Alleged ‘Hijacked’ Logo**

Tiger Woods is facing a trademark dispute over the new logo for his golf apparel line, Sun Day Red. On Wednesday, Tigeraire filed a notice of opposition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, claiming that Tiger Woods and Sun Day Red stole its design to create a very similar logo to brand Woods’ apparel line. Tigeraire is a Louisiana-founded company that develops apparel and advanced technology cooling systems for football helmets, athletes, and active people. The company is most famous for its partnership with LSU to develop an innovative cooling helmet for the football team with its Air Accelerator® technology.

Tigeraire’s logo has been trademarked since August 2020 and covers all goods in class 11, which include “air-conditioning, air cooling and ventilation apparatus and instruments; electric fans; electric fans for personal use; wearable electric fans; portable electric fans.” However, after adding polos and t-shirts to its selection, the company expanded the use of its trademark to apparel.