USPTO Denies Bill Belichick Trademark Filings, Citing Patriots’ Registrations
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has refused Bill Belichick’s trademark applications for three phrases associated with his coaching career:
The problem? The New England Patriots already own trademark registrations for those same slogans (without the ‘Bill’s Version’).
The New England Patriots’ Trademarks Cited in the Refusals
| wdt_ID | wdt_created_by | wdt_created_at | wdt_last_edited_by | wdt_last_edited_at | Patriots' Trademarks | Registration #: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DO YOUR JOB | 5244528 | ||||
| 2 | DO YOUR JOB | 4946338 | ||||
| 3 | DO YOUR JOB | 4522044 | ||||
| 4 | DO YOUR JOB! | 4561546 | ||||
| 5 | IGNORE THE NOISE | 6147764 | ||||
| 6 | IGNORE THE NOISE | 6069741 | ||||
| 7 | NO DAYS OFF | 6069742 |
Belichick filed the applications back in April, signaling plans to use the trademarks across a wide range of goods and services, including clothing, keychains, books, television programs, and podcasts.
The USPTO’s review found that the trademarks were nearly identical. The USPTO provided the following analysis in its refusal:
“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.”
Why “Bill’s Version” Didn’t Work
If Bill’s legal strategy to register his trademarks looks familiar, fans of Taylor Swift may see echoes of her decision to re-record her albums and add the parenthetical ‘Taylor’s Version’ to the titles.
For Swift, that strategy worked because she was navigating copyright law, not seeking trademarks on the song titles.
Copyright law provides narrower protection over the underlying intellectual property than trademark law. By re-recording her old songs, Taylor was able to create a new “work of art” that she could sell as her own.
The song titles were not protected by trademarks (as the title of a ‘single work of art’ is not protectable as a trademark), therefore, she could simply add “Taylor’s Version” at the end of the song title and re-release the new recording.
Belichick’s case is much different. Trademark law is about brands — names that identify products or services. Adding ‘Bill’s Version’ to an already registered trademark doesn’t create a new brand; it just makes a confusingly similar version of an existing one. That’s why the USPTO sided with the Patriots and denied Belichick’s applications.
Possible Next Steps for Belichick
When I saw these filings in April, I predicted this exact outcome. The Patriots already owned the core phrases, and simply appending “Bill’s Version” was never going to be enough to work around their rights. Trademark law gives the original owner — in this case, the Patriots — not just the word or phrase itself, but also protection against confusingly similar variations.
So, what can Belichick do now?
He could appeal, but I’d give that an extremely low chance of success. The legal standard is clear: adding a couple of words to the end of a trademark, in most cases, does not work around another company’s rights.
The more interesting option would be for Belichick to look at whether the Patriots are still actively using these trademarks. If they aren’t selling merchandise or producing content under ‘Ignore the Noise,’ ‘Do Your Job,’ or ‘No Days Off’ anymore, he might be able to file a Petition to Cancel the Patriots’ rights on grounds of abandonment. If successful, that could clear the way for his applications.
Of course, the optics would be fascinating: Belichick, the legendary coach, trying to cancel his former team’s trademarks. That alone would be a headline-worthy moment.
For now, though, the Patriots’ registrations stand, and Belichick’s path forward is blocked. I’ll be watching closely to see if he takes the next step and challenges his old team in the trademark arena.
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.
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