A new trademark catfight: Puma opposes Tiger Woods’ Sun Day Red trademark application

Puma SE, the multinational athletic corporation, has kicked off the new year by picking a fight with Tiger Woods’ new company, Sun Day Red. On January 2, 2025, Puma filed a letter of opposition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to prevent the registration of Sunday Red LLC’s (SDR) tiger logos (USPTO Application Serial Nos. 98364411 and 98363643).

In its opposition, Puma claims that the SDR logos create a likelihood of confusion with Puma’s ‘Leaping Cat’ marks, for which Puma has held a US trademark registration since 2010 and used variations of since 1968. Puma claims that both Puma’s and SDR’s logos are similar because they “convey or evoke a thought of a large cat” and are thus likely to create a confusingly similar commercial impression in the minds of consumers, given that both are competing in the golf apparel market. Puma’s opposition also includes allegations of actual consumer confusion between the two brands.

Sun Day Red’s “tiger” logo (USPTO Application Serial No. 98364411)

Puma’s “Leaping Cat” logo (USPTO Registration No. 3796051)

Puma also filed a correlative claim for dilution. Dilution is a cause of action reserved only for famous trademarks and allows mark holders to foreclose junior marks that impair the distinctiveness of or harm the reputation of the famous mark. Distinct from trademark infringement, dilution claims do not rely on consumer confusion. Rather, this cause of action looks to determine whether a famous mark is weakened or harmed by a junior mark. Here, Puma claims that SDR’s tiger logos weaken the distinctiveness of Puma’s Leaping Cat marks and decrease Puma’s ability to set its goods and services apart from others.

Notably, Slazenger, another major brand in the golf industry that features a silhouetted cat in its logo, has held a trademark registration for its cat-based logo since 2013 (USPTO Registration No. 4417785), and its mark has no history of opposition from Puma recorded at the USPTO.

Slazenger logo (USPTO Registration No. 4417785)

So, why Sun Day Red? And why now?

Tiger Woods is one of the most prolific golfers of all time and is undoubtedly the most prominent athlete to play the sport in the 21st Century. When Woods left a nearly 30-year relationship with Nike in early 2024, he launched a new brand, Sun Day Red, in collaboration with TaylorMade. The term ‘Sun Day Red’ derives from Woods’ famous habit of wearing a red shirt during the final rounds of major tournaments, which always occur on Sundays. The SDR logo features an eponymous silhouetted tiger with 15 stripes (one for each major title Woods has won). As a standalone company under the TaylorMade umbrella and by capitalizing on Woods’ own iconography, SDR is set to become a major and easily recognized player in the golf industry.

Over the past decade, the rising prominence of social media and a near-universal reliance on the internet have made the digital sphere the single most dominant and necessary marketing platform for companies. Commercial impressions and recognition among consumers are vital in sustaining long-term prominence in a market, and the age of social media has rendered consumer loyalty and attention fickle. With an ever-evolving market comes an increased need to defend the goodwill associated with a company’s branding, and trademark law is a key aspect of brand protection. So, it comes as little surprise that Puma is attempting to fortify itself against a new competitor backed by a major competitor in TaylorMade and relying on the star power of the most famed golfer in modern history.

Trademark law strikes a careful balance between protecting businesses against unfair competition through legally enforced trademark monopolies and the ability of competitors to freely use expression to set themselves apart in the market. A decision in favor of Puma may well imply a broader precedent that Puma’s trademark monopoly generally covers basic shapes of felines in motion and would almost certainly fail to create a clear line of demarcation between Puma’s dominion and the ability of others in the golf and sporting industries to use cat-based silhouettes as trademarks.

Whether victory will be decided in the courtroom or marketplace is uncertain. The USPTO is notoriously unpredictable in its examination process, and SDR still has until February to file an answer to Puma’s opposition. Further, the losing party may escalate the dispute to federal court after the examination process, though many, if not most, trademark claims settle before a final judgment. Nonetheless, this catfight between SDR and Puma remains illustrative of the crucial role trademarks play in a company’s ability to secure market share and create memorable consumer impressions.

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