Tiger Woods accused of ‘unlawfully hijacking’ brand’s logo

Tiger Woods’ brand, “Sun Day Red” (SDR), is at the center of a trademark dispute after Tigeraire, a company that produces cooling products, accused Woods and SDR of “unlawfully hijacking” its logo. Both logos depict a tiger leaping to the right, complete with stripes, as one would expect. However, Tigeraire believes the similarities between the two designs are too significant to overlook.

SDR, launched in May with the contested logo, features a tiger with 15 stripes—one for each major championship Woods has won. Woods had even mentioned his intention to “ruin” the design by adding more stripes for every additional major victory. That plan, however, may be halted depending on the outcome of the trademark dispute.

At first glance, some may find the two logos quite similar, sharing a monochrome color scheme, a hand-drawn appearance, and similarly positioned wordmarks. Yet, there are noticeable differences in style, particularly in the tigers’ design and line weights, making the issue less straightforward.

Tigeraire’s opposition filing claims that SDR, TaylorMade, and Woods have blatantly disregarded Tigeraire’s established brand identity, violated intellectual property laws, and caused consumer confusion. They are seeking to block SDR’s trademark application.

In response, Sun Day Red and TaylorMade Golf have filed their own lawsuit, asserting that no infringement occurred. They claim Tigeraire is attempting to “extract a windfall” from a larger, more prominent brand.

This isn’t the only logo trademark challenge currently facing the sports world, but it certainly stands out given Woods’ involvement.