Bill Belichick had a pretty brutal debut to his tenure as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels when the Tar Heels were completely outclassed by the TCU Horned Frogs.
Unfortunately for Belichick, he’s losing again, this time off the field, according to Awful Announcing.
The United States Trademark and Patent Office has denied Belichick’s filings for multiple trademarks, including the following:
- DO YOUR JOB (BILL’S VERSION)
- NO DAYS OFF (BILL’S VERSION)
- IGNORE THE NOISE (BILL’S VERSION)
This isn’t Belichick’s only battle in this arena. Two weeks ago, it was first reported that Belichick’s company, TCE Rights Management LLC, filed a trademark for the phrase “gold digger.” TCE Rights Management is managed by Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
The previous requests may have been denied because, the aforementioned phrases are already trademarked by the New England Patriots, and the Taylor Swift-inspired (Bill’s Version) additions clearly weren’t enough to sway the USPTO.
“The incorporation of an entire mark within another has often been found to increase the similarity between the compared marks where, as in the present case, the dominant portion of the marks is the same,” the USPTO wrote in its refusal of the trademarks, which were intended for use “across a wide range of goods and services, including clothing, keychains, books, television programs, and podcasts,” according to Josh Gerben.
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“Gold Digger is still pending. I think that one will go through for sure,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“I’m so sick of these two!” someone else added.
It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the season goes for the Tar Heels.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.