Did the USPTO’s Refusals of Bill Belichick’s Trademark Applications Create a Lesson About Trademark Research?

Several trademark applications filed this spring by former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, were refused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), according to public records. The applications were for phrases including “Do Your Job (Bill’s Version),” “Ignore the Noise (Bill’s Version),” “No Days Off (Bill’s Version),” and “The Belestrator (Bill’s Version)”. The USPTO cited a "likelihood of confusion" with existing tra