Boxing champ, Conor McGregor is well-known to fans in Ohio and across the country. An Irish fighter who gained international fame when he stepped into the ring with Floyd Mayweather, McGregor is known as much for his salty tongue as he is for his fists. Beyond his talent in the ring, however, the superstar fighter is reportedly planning to launch a line of men’s toiletries. The endeavor may prove to be his biggest challenge yet as cosmetics giant, Estee Lauder has cited business law to halt the process.
Lauder says McGregor is infringing upon one of its own patented brands, namely, MAC. McGregor has been quite vocal in telling the world that he is pursuing intellectual property rights under the title Mystic Mac for his new line of products. Lauder cried foul, noting that since the products are toiletries, many consumers will likely see the MAC name in the title and mistakenly believe they are Estee Lauder products.
A German clothing manufacturing has launched a complaint of its own against McGregor. The company owns a line of blue jeans known as Mac Jeans and, in a complaint similar to Lauder’s, has stated that if McGregor decides to add clothes to his product line, consumers would confuse the brands. There is another trademark dispute filed against the boxer that has to do with his coined phrase, “I am boxing.”
Modern business law protects intellectual property, and where trademarks are concerned, there is a specific registration process that must be navigated in order to obtain intellectual property rights. An experienced business and commercial law attorney can act on behalf of an Ohio company or resident to fight against unlawful uses of trademarks. Anyone with particular concerns can seek an advisory consultation.
Source: Forbes, “Conor McGregor May Get Knocked Out In New Trademark Disputes“, Darren Heitner, Feb. 7, 2018
