We are often confronted with the use of the term “World Cup” for both ski and football tournaments, but we regularly add the name of the organizer. The Wild Cat has now filed an opposition with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) to an attempt to legalize the use of the “World Cup” and “World Cup 2020” trademarks by the U.S. governing body for global football, or soccer. Fifa claims that they have become generic, but Puma says the term “refers to any high-level global competition or tournament involving the world’s best athletes or participants in a particular sport or field of competitive endeavor,” and should therefore not be allowed to be trademarked as a stand-alone term. It provides a detail list of “World Cups” for anything from cheerleading to rugby, sailing, poker, etc. as evidence in its 417-page claim. The company is asking for Fifa’s marks to be cancelled in their entireties.

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