How Under Armour Kept the Joel Embiid Logo Secret

Under Armour recently announced Joel Embiid’s new sneaker line and the “JE” logo that goes along with it.

That said, while this announcement was just made in August of 2020, Under Armour has been trying to keep the new “JE” logo a secret for months.

Back in January 2020, Under Armour originally filed a trademark application for the new Embiid “JE” logo in Jamaica, where it would not be discovered by eager fans and reporters. The method took advantage of something called the Paris Convention, which allows trademark applicants to secure an earlier priority date in the United States, based on the filing date of their application in a treaty country.

So, while Under Armour did not file their U.S. application until June 2, 2020, the company effectively secured a priority date in the United States as of January 28th (the date of the Jamaican filing).  This gave Under Armour six additional months to develop and prepare Embiid’s new shoe brand for the marketplace in relative secret.

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Josh Gerben, Esq.

Josh Gerben, Esq. is a nationally recognized trademark attorney and the founder of Gerben IP. Since launching the firm in 2008, he has overseen the registration of over 10,000 trademarks and handled over 1,500 trademark disputes. Josh's practice focuses on building and defending global trademark portfolios for clients. These clients include entrepreneurs, private equity-backed businesses, athletes, celebrities, and public companies. Frequently quoted by major media outlets like CNBC, CNN, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, Josh is widely regarded as a leading authority in trademark law.