Thread by @JoshGerben

I have assisted clients in registering 7,000+ trademarks in the US and around the world.

The Washington Football Team has likely filed a trademark application for its new team name.

The question is where.

#WashingtonFootball #WFT #NFL #trademarks

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There is a treaty called the Paris Convention.

178 countries signed this treaty.

If a company files a trademark in 1 of the 178 countries, it may then file the same mark in any of the other countries WITHIN 6 MONTHS and get the priority date from the original filing.

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The Cleveland Guardians used the Paris Convention when securing the trademark for its new team name.

In March 2021, the team filed a trademark for "Cleveland Guardians" in the Republic of Mauritius.

The application went unnoticed until the new name was announced in July.

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So how does a trademark application go unnoticed in today's world?

A number of the "Paris Convention" countries do not allow online searching of their trademark databases.

This makes it nearly impossible to find trademark filings made in those countries.

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The strategy of "hiding trademark filings" in tiny remote countries has become very common in the past 10 years (especially with large companies trying to conceal information about product launches).

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So at this time, in a tiny country's trademark office, there likely sits a trademark application for the Washington Football Team's new name. 🗃 👀

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Thank you for all the interest in this tweet today!

I took a deep dive into this issue with ABC News tonight. Here is the full interview:

wjla.com/sports/washing…