Tiger Woods accused of ‘unlawfully hijacking’ Sun Day Red logo; could face legal issues
A Louisiana-based company, Tigeraire, rejected Tiger Woods’ Sun Day Red trademark filing because it believes SDR ‘hijacked’ its logo.
Tiger Woods may have to change the logo of his apparel company, Sun Day Red, after the Louisiana-based company Tigeraire rejected their trademark filing.
Tigeraire started by creating cooler and more comfortable helmets for the LSU Tigers in 2020. The company claims Sun Day Red’s logo resembles theirs, so they submitted this filing on Sept. 25.
“The actions of SDR, TaylorMade, and Tiger Woods blatantly ignore Tigeraire’s longstanding protected mark, brand, and identity, violate federal and state intellectual property law, and disregard the consumer confusion their actions create,” the filing reads.
“SDR’s application should be denied.”
The filing explains how Tigeraire’s logo has been in continuous use since August 2020. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) approved its registration in 2022. Tigeraire’s trademark covers goods in “air condition, air cooling, and ventilation apparatus and instruments; electric fans; electric fans for personal use; wearable electric fans; portable electric fans.”
But as Tigeraire grew, the company expanded the use of its registered marks to other products, including apparel and cooling equipment golfers could use.
Given that Sun Day Red is a golf apparel company and since Woods wears this logo at high-profile events such as the Masters and the U.S. Open, Tigeraire decided to take legal action to protect its brand.
In response, Taylormade, which supports Sun Day Red, told CNBC News, “We have full confidence in the securitization of our trademarks.”
Woods, Taylormade, and Sun Day Red have until Nov. 4 to respond and answer this notice of opposition. They must win their case against Tigeraire to file their trademark for its logo, which dons 15 tiger stripes representing Woods’ 15 major championship victories.
But in all likelihood, the two sides will reach a resolution outside of court beforehand, per CNBC. Whether that involves a logo change to Woods’ Sun Day Red brand remains to be seen.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.