AEW News: Cody Rhodes' application for father's wrestling name trademark denied; reason revealed
In what could be described as a bit of a hiccup, Cody Rhodes' application for the name of "Dusty Rhodes" has been denied. It was earlier reported that he already owned the name but that is not the case.
Pro Wrestling Sheet broke the story and reported that the United States Patent and Trade Office issued a refusal last week, due to the name being too similar to 'Dustin Rhodes.'
Dustin Rhodes (Goldust) does own the rights to the name. According to the legal document, it states that,
"Here, the marks share one term, “RHODES”, and a highly similar term “DUSTY/DUSTIN”, and share the same overall commercial impression of that of a surname and given name, respectively. Given the high similarity in appearance, sound, and meaning of the marks, the marks are confusingly similar."
The ruling also further states due to both names being filed under entertainment services, wrestling exhibits and performances, this could cause further confusion. Cody's lawyer is confident of the trademark confusion being cleared up.
Cody's legal team could appeal the judgement or "get approval from the owner of the registration causing the trademark block" as the way to circumvent the judgement. From the sound of it, all Cody has to do is to get permission from his brother.
Thankfully, it doesn't look he will need to wrestle him for it!