"Submission" is a registered trademark of Zuffa!

sitnspin · 06-06-2006, 08:29 AM

I just rewatched UFC 60 and stayed with it right through the credits. The last thing they showed before the Zuffa logo was the list of terms that they own as registered trademarks. "UFC", "Ultimate Fighter", "Octagon", "As real as it gets", and "Submission". They got a trademark on the word submission? That seems crazy to me. At least they're not pushing it legally so that other organizations have to stop saying it...

Anti-Sanchez · 06-06-2006, 09:27 AM

Thats pretty retarded. I'm going to trademark Sanchez. Now Diego can't use it without paying me money. LOL

rapidresults · 06-06-2006, 10:21 AM

No kidding, that is just plan stupid! I think Dana has done wonders for this sport and I will always give him credit for that. But him doing things like this makes him look shady and takes the sport steps back. I understand from a business point that he wants to be on top but when you start tearing down other promotions and go court crazy you are actually stopping other great talented fighters from coming up to the surface. Just my 2 cents

jmag · 06-06-2006, 11:38 AM

I call "jujitsu" and "striking"! Anyone who uses those pays!

subgenius · 06-06-2006, 11:47 AM

It is not "submission" that is trademarked, it is "Submission." The capital letter "S" makes fine line distinction. This prevents other MMA promotions from using "Submission" in their titles or event names. It is not a ban on all use of the word "submission" outside of the UFC. Commentators and announcers in other propmotiond DO NOT have to pay the UFC anything when they use the word "submission" in what they say during an event. The word "submission" can freely be used anywhere, anytime so long as it is not a title form. I am not really clear about the "Submission" trademark -- why did they do that, I mean. I have not seen "Submission" used by the UFC in quite a long time as an event title.

It is not really clear whether it is a registered trademark, trademark, trade dress or service mark... It does not specify which one that it is in the end title graphic that displayed that message. However, there is one product, the UFC Ultimate Submissions DVD, that has the "Submission" word in the title. There is also a UFC website named "Ten Best – The Top UFC Submissions of 2005" that has the name in the title.

Of all the stuff in the credits, I would have thought that the credit of "Feature Writer - Joe Silva" would have sparked contreversy. Why does the UFC need a writer for it's MMA events? Are they scripting fights?

Here is an article from the UFC website that explains some of this:

01/25/2006
UFC® AFFIRMS “ULTIMATE FIGHTING®” AND OCTAGON TRADEMARK UFC® AFFIRMS “ULTIMATE FIGHTING®” AND OCTAGON TRADEMARK RIGHTS IN JUDGMENT AGAINST WORLDWIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP

Zuffa, LLC, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand, announced today that it secured a key legal victory in its trademark infringement lawsuit against the Worldwide Fighting Championship and Gino Carlucci. Zuffa filed the complaint in Phoenix on January 10, 2006 to protect its intellectual property rights. Zuffa’s principal allegations were that Worldwide Fighting Championship (1) was using an octagon fighting enclosure at its mixed martial arts events without a license from Zuffa and incorporating an octagonal design as part of its logo, (2) was impermissibly displaying the term “Ultimate Fighting” in advertisements on its website and (3) was using a “WFC” logo that was confusingly similar to Zuffa’s stylized UFC logo.

The case was resolved just before a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for last week. The Federal District Court entered a Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction on January 25, 2006, in which the WFC defendants acknowledged the validity of Zuffa’s federal trademark rights, and were ordered, among other things, to refrain from using the term ULTIMATE FIGHTING, to modify the WFC logo to remove the octagon component and to modify the font style and appearance of the “WFC”. As part of the Judgment, WFC was also ordered to obtain a license from Zuffa and pay license fees in connection with WFC’s use of the Octagon™ fighting enclosure at its WFC mixed martial arts events.

UFC President Dana White states that “Zuffa spends a lot of time and money to create its intellectual property, and Zuffa is required by law to protect the rights it acquires. As a result, we will use all legal means to prevent others from confusing fans into believing they are buying the UFC experience.”

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the UFC® organization produces approximately eight live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution, UFC fight programs are distributed throughout the world including broadcast on WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil and Bravo in the United Kingdom. Zuffa, LLC licenses the distribution of its fight show DVDs through Studioworks Entertainment, a Ventura Distribution company. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.

AikaImmortal · 06-06-2006, 12:35 PM

what about Submission Wrestling, which predates the UFC?

subgenius · 06-06-2006, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AikaImmortal

what about Submission Wrestling, which predates the UFC?

Which one? Is it in the US? Is it in a country that the UFC has applied for a trademark with recently? I doubt that Abu Dhabi has anything to worry about with their ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships.