Tiger Woods' Sun Day Red countersues company that accused them of stealing their logo - "Opportunistic, misguided business"
Tiger Woods and TaylorMade's Sun Day Red brand have reportedly decided to fight back against the notice of opposition filed against their logo. To that end, they have filed a lawsuit against Tigeraire, the company that filed the notice of opposition.
According to Tiger Woods' brand representatives, the Louisiana-based company Tigeraire is only trying to "extract an unwarranted financial windfall" from an intellectual property claim that does not actually exist.
An excerpt from the countersuit document reads as follows (via Golf Monthly):
"This case, unfortunately, presents the time-worn circumstance of an opportunistic, misguided business attempting to extract an unwarranted financial windfall from a larger and more successful brand, based on threats of legal action and demands for exorbitant sums."
Representatives of Woods and his company claim that Tigeraire suddenly began associating its image with golf:
"[Tigeraire started] attending golf tournaments, changed its website’s home page to prominently feature golfers, and frantically added apparel to its product offerings – all in a clear attempt to manufacture the appearance of overlap where none existed in the actual marketplace."
Tigeraire was founded in 2020. According to its official website, its founding business purpose was to develop and manufacture "a cooler and more comfortable environment" inside the helmets for the Louisiana State University football team, the LSU Tigers.
As of October 2024, the home page of Tigeraire's website features a picture of two golfers to promote an accessory called the Zephyr 2 PRO, a headlamp.
What is Tigeraire's claim against Tiger Woods' brand logo?
According to Tigeraire, Tiger Woods' Sun Day Red trademark logo is similar to its own, causing "consumer confusion" and violating federal and state intellectual property laws.
Tigeraire's logo features a tiger leaping from left to right. Sun Day Red's logo also features a tiger leaping from left to right. The lines that make up the tiger are different for each logo, both in their thickness and their arrangement in the image.
As Woods explained, there are 15 lines on the Sun Day Red tiger to represent his 15 Major titles.
Tigeraire filed its notice of opposition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on September 25. According to the Los Angeles-based Hartmans Law firm, this step means that the claimed trademark (in this case Sun Day Red) cannot be registered until the opposition is resolved.
Woods and TaylorMade launched Sun Day Red in early 2024 after the 15-time Major champion ended a 27-year relationship with Nike as his primary sponsor. The first tournament in which Woods wore the brand was the 2024 Genesis Invitational.